


Royals

by jagseun



Category: GOT7, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Markjin, Princes & Princesses, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-26 00:30:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 56,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6216376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jagseun/pseuds/jagseun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark had always known this day would come.  Arranged marriage was a common occurrence in royal families and his turn had finally arrived.  He accepted his fate, throwing away his right to a choice for the sake of his family.  Little did he know, agreeing to join the Park's would be both the best and worst decision of his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“So it’s settled then, we’ll be arranging a meeting with the Park family from the northern kingdom to finalize the details.”  Mark’s mother gracefully got up from her chair and turned to leave. “We’re glad you didn’t hesitate to make the right decision Mark, this marriage is critical to maintaining the status of our family.”  This was the last thing she said before she returned to her duties and left Mark feeling conflicted.

Mark had always known this day would come.  Arranged marriage was a common occurrence in royal families, both of his sisters had already been married away to their suitors and his turn had finally arrived.

At first he felt uneasy about the entire idea; it felt like a violation of rights to be set up with a stranger for the gain of your family but as the years went by he could feel his mind changing.  They had held hundreds of parties over the course of his life and as soon as he reached the ripe age of 15 his parents were constantly introducing potential wives to him from all over the country.  It always ended the same way though, the princess would practically throw herself at him the moment he saw them, compliment him on his good looks (everyone told him he was handsome but he still couldn’t quite see it himself) and tried to woo him with a ridiculous amount of flirting that had no effect on him.

He figured one day he would meet the girl of his dreams, but years went by and every girl his parents introduced him to would eventually leave his side completely forgotten.  He never had even the slightest interest in any of them.

He knew his parents were constantly disappointed in him after all these failed attempts, so when the time came for a wife to be partially forced upon him he agreed to the whole deal with no complaints.  If he wasn’t interested in a single girl in the entire kingdom thus far he finally decided it was never going to happen.  He was never going to find a wife for himself; he had never even _liked_ a girl, where was he going to find a girl he _loved?_ He believed the entire process would be all cleared up if he just agreed to marry the woman who brought his family the highest status and he would just learn to like her after a couple of years out of habit.

The more he thought about it the more he realized what a sad decision it was. His entire life he had never met his parents expectation as a royal and if this was something he could do to make them happy then he knew he was making a sound decision.

“Is this it then?  Is this when we’re finally going to split up?”  A blonde haired man clad in a black suit suddenly tackled him back into the chair he was sitting on.  “All these years together, partners in crime!  It’s finally coming to an end…”

“Jacksonnmmphh, getuffme, can’tbreaf!!!”  The man finally clambered off him. Mark noticed tears in his eyes, threatening to fall.  “Jackson relax, we’re not splitting up.  Just because I’m getting married doesn’t mean I’m getting rid of you. You’re my personal butler, you have to go everywhere with me.”

 “That’s a relief!”  Jackson took a seat on Mark’s lap instead of any nearby chair.  Mark was used to this by now so he didn’t even bat an eyelash.  “And here I thought all those years of friendship were over!” 

He had an interesting relationship with Jackson Wang.  In the past, he had been employed by his family as a regular servant but after countless mistakes and general rowdiness he had been fired after just a month of working there.  Mark had found the whole ordeal to be a bit unfair so he begged his parents not to fire him, and he offered to instead have him reassigned as his personal butler.  They had been inseparable ever since, literally.  Jackson’s job was to be at his beck and call 24 hours of the day but as the years went by they formed a bond much greater than just that.  They had become good friends to the point he almost forgot that Jackson was actually employed to work for him.

“I couldn’t imagine life without you Jackson.”  Mark deadpanned.

“Now that’s all cleared up, I can’t believe my Markie-poo is getting married!”  Jackson wiped fake tears from his eyes.  “They grow up so fast…”

“I think you’re forgetting that I’m the older one here.”

“Please, we’re practically the same age!”  Mark questioned on a daily basis how he was able to put up with this for the past six years.  “Anyways tell me about the girl, what’s her name?  Is she pretty?”

“I don’t know her name and I haven’t seen her yet.  We’re set to meet for the first time in a week.”

“Whoa, so this is a completely blind sort of deal?  You just agreed to this without even seeing her face?  What if you don’t like her?”

“That doesn’t matter at this point, she’s the best fit for our family and I’ll learn to live with whoever it is.  I’ve given up on actually finding the right person for me.”  Mark ended his sentence with a sigh.

“Prince Tuan, giving up his search for love at the ripe age of 22, how sad.”  Jackson chided.

“You know how arranged royal marriages work Jackson; I’m surprised they waited so long on me.  Most of us are married away in our late teens.”

“Since you already agreed to it I guess I can’t tell you anything but good luck!  Just to let you know, no matter how pretty your wife turns out to be she’s going to still be reaching to be worthy of the most handsome prince in the eastern kingdom.”

“I told you, I still don’t see it.”

* * *

 One week had flown by and he found himself arriving at a palace that rivaled his own.  After the ten minute walk through the long garden path in front towards the main doors, he concluded that this place was way fancier than his.

He had never met anyone of a higher status of him so he made sure he was on his best behaviour as he entered the grand hall that was considered just an entrance room.

A servant stood before them as they walked through the corridor.  “The meeting will take place in the main hall of the left wing,  I’ll guide you there to wait for the king and queen to bring the princess down to meet with you.”

The main hall was stunning.  The walls and floors coloured in reds and golds with a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling.  He was told to sit down on a cushioned chair in front of a grand staircase.

He nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard a servant clear his throat loudly next to him, “The Park’s have arrived please stand to welcome them.”

Mark stood up and brushed the non-existent dirt off of his epaulette, jacket, and trousers.  He looked towards the staircase he could feel himself trembling.  He hadn’t thought he would be this nervous but the significance of this meeting was finally hitting him. 

After a minute that seemed to last an hour three individuals started making their way down the staircase.  The two in front were obviously King and Queen Park.  The figure behind them he assumed was the princess, but the two in front managed to cover her until they reached the bottom of the staircase and moved out of the way to reveal her.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but as soon as he saw her he knew why his parents were so convinced he would be happy with her.  She was the image of an ideal beauty, pale skin, round face, long black hair.  She looked like a living doll.

“I present to you King Park and Queen Park, rulers of the kingdom of Jinhae,“  They bowed to them.  The servant then turned to the girl who had stepped forward. “I present to you Princess Park Sooyoung of the kingdom of Jinhae, your bride-to-be.”  He bowed to her as well and she curtsied back. 

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Prince Tuan.”  She said with a smile on her face as Mark held out his hand to her.

“The pleasure is all mine, Princess Park.”  A line he had rehearsed earlier, this was already going better than expected.

He hadn’t anticipated the meeting going like this.  She seemed normal enough.  Most girls he met were suddenly speechless the moment he looked at them or tried too hard to get his attention, but she seemed to be strangely calm, like she had been rehearsing for this moment as well.

After more formal introductions between the two families and some mindless discussion, the question finally was asked to both of them.

“You two have had time to meet, now are there any objections from the both of you?”  It seemed to happen so quickly but the princess was quick to speak up.

“Absolutely no objections from me father, I’m happy to be wed to Prince Tuan if he shall accept me.”

All eyes were on him as he tried to focus on the gold engravings on the walls instead of meet any of their eyes.

He had to admit, Sooyoung was aesthetically pleasing but that was as far as it went.  As per usual, there wasn’t any sort of spark that drew her to him.  He had no interest in becoming romantically involved with her.

He took one last look at his parents before he made his decision.

“No objections, I agree to the marriage.”

* * *

 All the preparations had been made and he was shocked when they set the wedding date only a few months from now.  Weddings were usually grandeur and took years in some cases to complete.  A shorter time frame, he decided, would be better, less time to regret decisions that were now final.

It was now the evening of the same night as the Park’s threw a huge party in celebration of the royal engagement.  It seemed as though they already knew the plans were not going to fall through. 

He’d been to grander parties in the past but this one was still quite large for the occasion.  Royalty from all over the northern kingdom had been invited.  Since he was not from the north he didn’t recognize many faces so he spent most of the night with his bride-to-be by his side, accepting congratulations as he received them.

Even though Sooyoung stood by his side all night she barely spoke a word to him.  A smile was plastered on her face as she greeted guest after guest but when they stood alone she hardly acknowledged his existence.  He wasn’t sure if he should try and initiate conversation with her.  They were going to spend the rest of their lives together; they had to talk at some point.

“Umm, miss Princess Park.”

“Please, we’re soon to be married.  Call me Sooyoung.”  She finally looked up at him and he greeted her with an awkward smile.

“Sorry, Sooyoung it is then.”  He took a gulp of the drink he was holding as he tried to come up with what else to say. “Are you excited, for the wedding I mean?”

“What girl isn’t excited for her wedding day?  I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I was a little girl.”  Sooyoung responded, using the same voice she used to greet everyone else.

“Oh, of course, I’m excited too.  I’ve never been married before.”  He realized that was a stupid thing to say just a moment too late.  She at least had the decency to laugh a bit instead of just staring at him awkwardly.

He was relieved when everyone was called out to the dance floor for partner dancing so he didn’t have to try and continue a conversation that was going nowhere fast.  Everyone went out towards the dance floor as he held hands with Sooyoung pulling her into the big circle.  They started the dance by bowing to each other and following the steps accordingly to the music.  He was used to this by now; he had been forced to do that same thing at all the parties he went to.

After about a minute of dancing, everyone got the cue to switch partners so he detached himself from Sooyoung and ended up with another girl.  This repeated as they spun round and round.  He had almost completed the entire circuit when he felt his hand grabbed by another quite firmly.

As he looked up at his new partner he tripped over the steps in shock, this only resulted in the other’s eyes crinkling up as he took a hand to cover his mouth while he laughed.  “That’s about the same reaction I’ve gotten from everyone tonight.” The black-haired man pulled him along so that they could seamlessly continue the dance despite Mark momentarily forgetting how to walk.

“I’m sorry, but what are you doing—“

“Uneven partners tonight, you’re stuck with me for one rotation.”  He replied in a teasing tone. 

“O-oh, I see.”  He looked back up at his face as he turned around.  “I don’t mind, I was just shocked, that’s all.”

“Don’t worry about it.”  He said and Mark twirled him around.  “Can you try not to look so tense while you’re dancing with me?  Just imagine I’m your pretty bride over there.”

“Oh, so you know about that…”  Mark reprimanded himself; of course he knew about it, this was a party in his honour for god’s sake.

The other seemed to read his expression and chuckled to himself again.  “Seems as though you’re not the smartest one in the bunch, I just hope you’re a good husband to her.”

Mark was trying to find something to pin the blame on for making his mind temporarily turn to mush.  He was having a hard time forming coherent thoughts let alone coherent sentences.   “Of course, that’s what I’ll do—be a good husband.”  Their hands disconnected and reconnected and he could feel himself getting flustered when he thought about how his hand felt intertwined with his.

“Are you sure you’re alright?  You’re sweating.”  The man said as they were face to face once more. He leaned his face a bit closer until their noses were only centimetres apart.  “It’s too late to back out now, Prince Tuan.  I hope you’re not regretting your decision.”  He smiled as he went to turn away from him when the music changed.

They circled round and Mark finally answered when he turned back towards him.  “Of course not, my decision is final.”  He tried to speak confidently but his voice betrayed him, coming out unsure and shaky.

The music picked up and their faces were together once more, the other boy purposely putting his face closer that it needed to be.  “Hmm, at least you’re attractive.”  Mark was sure that his face was noticeably red by now.  “I didn’t think anyone would match Princess Park’s beauty but I think you’ve even surpassed her.”  His breath was hot against his face and Mark’s heart was ready to jump out of his chest.

“I really don’t think I’m anything other than ordinary, but thank you.” The other just laughed at this.   Mark was grateful when he turned back away and twirled him around.  He couldn’t even look at him straight.

He was sure he felt a spark race through his body as their hands reconnected for the last time.  “Well then, just promise me you’ll take care of her, alright?  She deserves to be happy and I won’t stand for anything less.  You hurt her in any way and I’ll make you regret it.”

Before Mark could answer the song came to an end and everyone else started cheering.

“Congratulations on your engagement.  I wish you both a prosperous and joyous future.” He disentangled his body from Mark’s and gave him a quick bow.  “Thank you for the dance… it was nice.”

The boy let his hand linger on Mark’s for just a second longer than necessary before turning around and disappearing into the sea of party guests.

Mark didn’t see him again for the rest of the night. 


	2. Chapter 2

Mark’s eyes blinked open as they were hit with sunlight.  The curtains were drawn right open in the guestroom he was residing in for the night.  _I’m pretty sure I had closed those last night._

His sleep was fitful.  He kept tossing and turning and he couldn’t even remember when he had actually settled down enough to fall asleep.  Judging by his headache and his desire to just swaddle himself in his blanket and never come out, he hadn’t slept for long.

As he settled back into head bed he realized he had been shoved to the side. Two arms around him, warm body pressed against him, soft breathing tickling the back of his neck. 

“Good morning Markie-pooh!” 

Mark jumped and fell right out of bed, hitting the floor hard.  “What the _hell_?” Mark just stared daggers at the man lying on his bed.  “How many times have I told you, Jackson? It’s _not_ okay to just climb into bed with me!”

“Aw but you looked so sad, you kept rolling around.  I originally went up here to wake you up but you were so cute I just had to climb right in and hug you to calm down.  You slept like a baby in my arms.”  Jackson talked as if he was doting on his first-born child.

“What are you even doing here?  I thought you were back at home.”

“Well, actually I was called here last night.  They told me to tell them everything you’d need for the next couple months and sent me over.  Looks like you’re here for the long haul.”

“What?  I’m going to be living here until the wedding?”  Mark had expected to come up here and approve the wedding and leave to worry about it in his own home for some months.  He hadn’t realized he’d be stuck in the same house as his bride-to-be until then.

Jackson sat up on the bed and patted the spot next to him to get Mark to sit down.  “That looks like the case!  Don’t worry! As long as I’m here it’ll feel just like home.”  As soon as Mark sat down Jackson swung his arm around him and pulled him close.

Mark still couldn’t grasp the fact that he probably wouldn’t ever be returning home, and his parents hadn’t even bothered to tell him.  “I’m going to need a map of this place if I want to even try living here.  This place is so huge I doubt I’ll ever get the hang of it.”  Mark buried his face in his hands. “This means I’m going to have to be on my best behaviour at all times, her family is going to be watching my every move and—ughhh.”

“Relax Mark; it’s going to be fine.”  Jackson gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before delving into his next line of questioning.  “So, you met her, right?  What’s she like?  Is she pretty?  Was she friendly?  What’s her sign?”

Mark tried to remember but his mind was so clouded he had a hard time even trying to remember what her face looked like.  He tried to think back to last night but he could only think of one person, the man who made his stomach churn so badly he couldn’t even sleep the night before.

“She was… nice.”

Jackson’s face instantly lit up.  “ _Oh my god_ , Mark! You’re blushing!  Is this it, do you actually like her?  Have the heavens finally blessed you with a girl that makes your heart flutter?  Is Mark Tuan finally going to get _laid_?”

Mark promptly shoved Jackson off the side of the bed.   

“First of all—“Mark had been about to say that he didn’t actually like her, but he caught himself.  He couldn’t go around saying he wasn’t fond of his wife. 

Jackson stared at him waiting for him to finish.

“I can’t sleep with whoever I want, Jackson.  I have status to uphold.”  Mark sneered.

“Yeah yeah, I’m bottom of the barrel trash just because I like to have fun sometimes, I know.  Don’t try to avoid my question, _do you like her_?”

“I told you she’s nice, what more do you want from me?”  Mark crossed his arms and pouted.  He looked like a five-year-old holding a grudge against his parents.

“What does ‘nice’ mean?  Does she have nice hair, a nice body, a nice personality, a nice—“

“Just drop it, Jackson.”  Mark wasn’t in the mood for this kind of conversation this early in the morning.   His mind was already occupied enough trying to process why his stomach refused to calm itself every time he thought about the night before. _Who was he?  Was he royalty?   He had to be, he must be part of the northern kingdom.  But exactly who is he?  What’s his name?  Will I even get the chance to see him again?  Why does he make me feel like this?_

Jackson knew by now that if Mark didn’t want to talk about something it was best to just drop it for the moment.  “Fine, but you’re acting really suspicious.” Jackson finally picked himself up off the floor and brushed himself off.  “Just one more question, do you regret your decision?”

“No.”  In his mind, he was still set on the fact that this was the right decision, but something in his heart was telling him he had made a mistake.  “I think.”

* * *

 

Mark didn’t get to lie in bed and try to resolve his inner turmoil for long.  Just an hour later he was readied and whisked downstairs for brunch with his wife-to-be.  He had dark circles under his eyes and was looking a bit crusty, but she, of course, was flawless.

“Good morning, Prince Tuan.”  She curtsied and put on a smile for him.

He bowed back.  “Good morning, Sooyoung.  Please call me Mark.” 

“Looks like we’re set to eat brunch alone today, the rest of the family feels we should get used to doing these things together.”  She was constantly smiling and it was starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

“ it’s just going to be us for the rest of our lives so we might as well take these few months before the wedding to get used to it.”  He agreed.

She finally stopped smiling and looked a bit regretful.  “It wasn’t my idea to have you move in here on such short notice.  My parents just informed of the news this morning as well.  I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable with this arrangement, it is out of my power to change it.”

“Please, you don’t need to take any of the blame.  I’ll just have to talk with my parents about it.”

The frown set on her face grew a bit wider.  “I’m sorry; they actually departed during the night as well.  I asked them if I should wake you up to inform you but they advised not to.  They just told me that you’re a grown man and you’d understand their decision.”

_Figures, they never really cared about me anyways._ “I see, don’t worry about it.  I’m not too bothered honestly; I just wish they’d told me. “

“I’ll act respectfully since we are still getting to know each other.  I hope you won’t feel too distressed in my presence.”

“Oh no, not at all.  Honestly, my biggest worry was trying to figure out how to get used to living here.  I need people to navigate me around when I want to go somewhere.”  He chuckled and she looked relieved.

“This place is rather large isn’t it?  I guess I don’t really notice since I’m used to it.  I’ll ask one of the servants to give you a full tour later today.  Hopefully, you’ll be able to figure it out.”

After an awkward moment of silence that followed they settled into a table in one of the smaller dining rooms- which was still huge, but it was tiny compared to the main dining hall everyone else ate dinner in according to Sooyoung.  The food was brought to them and neither of them bothered to talk much beyond questions that required simple yes or no answers.

“Sooyoung, are you really going to eat _all_ of that?  Stop being such a pig in front of your husband.”  Mark looked up from his plate to find a servant with ashy grey hair laughing at Sooyoung as he took away her empty plates and replaced them with more food.

“Yah!  This is brunch, aren’t you supposed to eat enough for breakfast _and_ lunch?”  Sooyoung was glaring up at him but he just reached out to ruffle her hair and continued to giggle.

“Hey, I was just kidding!  Relax!”  She playfully smacked him on the shoulder but soon they both just busted out into a fit of laughter. 

Mark was shocked at first, she looked so genuinely happy.  It was miles apart from the fake smiles she constantly sent his way. 

They finally noticed Mark staring at them and decided to try and hold themselves together.  “Sorry Mark.  I’ve never introduced you; this is my personal butler, Yook Sungjae.” 

He nodded to him from the table.  “Nice to meet you, I’m—“

“I know who you are!  You’re the unlucky guy who has to put up with this bundle of _joy_ for the rest of his life.”  Sooyoung reached out and hit him again and Sungjae reached out to squeeze her cheeks before he realized how weird the scene must’ve looked and stopped.  “Ahem, the pleasure is mine, Prince Tuan.”

“Just ignore him, he’s always like this.”  Sooyoung affirmed as she tried to shove him back towards the door with one arm.

He decided to listen to Sooyoung and just disregard them.  They seemed to be close but that was the case for many of those who had personal butlers, which reminded him, _where the hell was Jackson?_ He had told him to meet him downstairs but he hasn’t seen him for the past hour.  He really hoped he didn’t manage to get himself lost.

Mark quickly shoved the last bits of food into his mouth.  “It’s been fun, but I need to go find someone.  I’ll excuse myself now.”  Neither of them seemed too bothered by the fact he left so abruptly.

He was about to leave but he stopped and turned back around.  The both of them were still bickering so he decided to clear his throat loudly to get their attention.  “Uh, sorry but, how exactly do I get back to my room from here?”

“…I’ll call someone up to give you that tour.”

* * *

 

They were about halfway through the tour when they found Jackson on the floor in one of the hallways, curled up into the fetal position. 

“Jackson, what are you doing?  I thought you were going to meet me downstairs.”  Mark walked up to him and poked his back.

Jackson turned around and looked up at his face in awe before jumping him, almost knocking him right off his feet.  “Mark!  Oh my god!  I thought I would never see you again!”

“Jackson, get off.”  Jackson put his legs down but still kept his arms around Mark’s neck.  “What happened?”

“I don’t know!  I think I took a wrong turn somewhere and I’ve been lost ever since.  I’m pretty sure I’ve been wandering these halls for _days_.” 

“It’s actually only been an hour.  It was really quiet without you, almost peaceful.”  Those words made Jackson finally unlatch himself from Mark and give him an exasperated look. 

“Listen, buddy.  You’d be lost without me if I were to actually leave for a long time.  Count your blessings.”  Jackson looked like he was about to storm off but he decided against it, realizing that he’d probably just get himself lost again.

“I was just kidding Jackson, relax.”  Mark poked him with him elbow but Jackson was still frowning.

“People who aren’t funny shouldn’t make jokes.”  Mark just kept smiling on him and nudging him until finally he finally cracked, as he always did.  “Stop smiling like that, it’s creepy.”

“I’ll stop it when you stop pretending to be upset.” 

Jackson sighed in defeat.  “You know I could never be mad at that cute face for long.”  Jackson reached up to pinch Mark’s cheeks but Mark escaped before he got the chance.

“Hey!  No touching, stop being so touchy!”  It was hard to take that request seriously when Mark was laughing.

“You’re going to have to get used to touching Mark, you are getting married soon after all.”  Jackson through a suggestive smirk his way and Mark just looked annoyed.  “How was brunch with the wife by the way?  Did you two lovebirds hit it off even _more?”_

“Why don’t we save that conversation for later?”  Mark dodged the question again but he knew Jackson was starting to get suspicious.

“Mark—“Before Jackson could start yelling at him Mark moved to the side made pushed the elderly servant who was guiding him up to the front.

“See, I’m actually getting a tour right now.  We’re only about halfway through so you can join us.  Honestly, I think you need to figure this place out more than me.  You can’t be getting lost every time I leave you alone.”  Mark smiled awkwardly but he knew Jackson could see right through him.

“Ah sorry, I didn’t see you there.”  Jackson walked up to Mark and whispered in his ear, “We’re going to talk later.”  Then he was all smiles again as he held hands with the elderly man and told him enthusiastically to continue the tour.  The servant looked back at him for help but Mark decided to just leave them.  Everyone who worked in the house would have to get used to Jackson eventually.  Jackson didn’t like watering down his personality for anyone.  Once you got past the eccentricity you couldn’t help but like him.

* * *

 

After almost two hours later they were finally nearing the end of the tour.  Mark didn’t know the place ended up being even _bigger_ than he had thought.

“Alright boys, this is the last stop.  I doubt you’d ever need to come here, but this is one of the pride and joys of the Park family palace.”  The elderly man shoved open two grandeur doors to show what looked to be the largest room in the house, and he hadn’t thought any room was going to be bigger than the grand hall. 

As he walked in he was hit with the musky scent of old books mixed with piles of dust.  The rows of bookshelves lined both sides so far along Mark couldn’t even see where they ended.

“ _This_ is the library.  We have one the biggest collections of rare and unpublished books in the nation.  Most of the collections of books here are even older than I am.”

Mark was mesmerized by the sight.  He hadn’t read many books since he became a teenager but there wasn’t anybody who wouldn’t be impressed by this collection, he thought.

“Oh, excellent, a room full of old books.  “Jackson turned around and pulled the older man along with him.  “This tour was exciting and all but I think I’ve got this place down now… kind of.”  He had muttered the last bit of his sentence.  “Anyways I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet and it’s almost lunch!  Please tell me you know where the servants go to grab some food in this place.”

“I didn’t think you’d be that excited.  Many boys your age aren’t really impressed by these sorts of thing, I should’ve known…”  The old man looked dejected.

“No, that’s not… this is just... amazing.  Truly.”  Mark tried to make him feel a bit better.  He had obviously been saving this for the last stop because he thought it was the best.  “How long has the family been collecting books?”

“Oh many years before I started working here.  The Park family has built this collection for decades.”  He perked up a bit after seeing Mark show some interest, but he was pulled back again by Jackson.

“Um, sorry to ruin your bonding moment, but I’m pretty sure my stomach is so empty it’s about to implode.  Are you coming, Mark?”  Jackson pulled the servant back with him and Mark knew there was nothing he could say to change his mind.

“I’ll pass; I’m still full from brunch.  I think I’ll just hang out here for a bit.”

“Suit yourself!”  Jackson dragged the elderly man along through the door much to his dismay.

“Be careful with the books if you plan on reading them!  Some of them are very delicate!”  The servant yelled back before Jackson had completely pulled him from the room.  Mark sat down on a chair and put laid a hand over his eyes.

Honestly, Mark didn’t care for the library that much, he just wanted to stay somewhere quiet.  Servants were constantly mulling around despite the fact that few people lived there as actual residents, he assumed.  He wasn’t actually sure how big the Park family was apart from Sooyoung and her parents.  She could have ten siblings for all he knew, _wouldn’t that be a nightmare._

Anyways, he just needed someplace quiet where he could just sit down and figure out all the thoughts running through his mind.  Ever since the night of the party, he had an uneasy feeling about this whole agreement.  He had been so sure of himself, even after he agreed to the marriage.  When did he start doubting himself?  Oh yeah, after _that_ happened.

Ever since he danced with that guy he felt something deep in his stomach that he just couldn’t shake.  A feeling so foreign it made him sick.  He had been to so many parties over the years and never once had a person made him feel this way.  He wasn’t sure what these feelings were trying to tell him but above all, he was _scared_.  He had his entire life planned so perfectly and in the span of just five minutes he found himself full doubt, even after he told himself many times there was no going back.

He decided that the faster he got over… whatever these feelings were, the better.  There was no point dwelling on somebody who he was probably never even going to see again.  He didn’t ask for his name or anything, for all he knows he could’ve been invited from a faraway kingdom on a one-time circumstance and he would never see him again.  The thought of that made him feel a bit depressed, but he decided to ignore that feeling.  This was the start of his new life; there should be no turning back, no hesitation.  The first day of the rest of his life begins now!

He almost fell right out of the chair when he heard a loud crash disturb the pure silence of the library.  _What the… am I not alone?_

He got up and walked down to the aisle where he thought the sound came from.  He noticed a large pile of disarranged books lying on the floor; they looked like they had fallen right off the shelf.  “Hello?”  He called out meekly.

“Ow…”  He then noticed he wasn’t alone.  A man was sitting on the ground holding his head in his hands.

“…are you okay?” 

 “Jesus that hurt, the biggest book just fell on my head, I thought I was going to die from the impact.  It’s honestly an appropriate way to die, for someone like me.  Death by literary…”

Mark took a step towards him to make sure he was really okay.

 “Anyways, I think I’m going to be ok, I hope.”  He finally looked up and Mark felt his heart drop. “People rarely come back here, I was sure I was alone… Hey, I know you!  Prince Tuan?”

Mark felt his mouth go dry trying to find something to say.  “Ah you… from the party… what are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?  I live here, well not in the library but I mean here as in the palace. Although you could argue that I live in the library actually…”

“Wait, you _live_ here?  Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.  I guess I should’ve introduced myself last night.”  He reached out his hand for him to shake.  “I’m Park Jinyoung, but many people call me Prince Park I guess.  I prefer Jinyoung though.”

“Wait, so you and Sooyoung…?”

“She’s my sister.”


	3. Chapter 3

`warnings: homophobia, internalized homophobia `

* * *

Mark felt his jaw slack and his stomach start churning at the realization. 

His sister.  Her brother.  _Siblings._  

He should’ve realized, maybe just a bit.  They didn’t look _that_ much alike, but they shared the same pale skin and dark hair that made them look almost doll-like.  He most definitely looked like a prince.

“Uh… Prince Tuan.  Hello?”  Jinyoung was staring at him, arm still outstretched.  “Are you going to shake my hand or are you just going to stare at me all day?”

“S-sorry.”  Mark shook his hand while trying not to meet his eyes… or think about his hand felt in his. 

Jinyoung put his hand on Mark’s chin and forced him to look up into his eyes, which were now much closer as he leaned in to look at his face.  “Are you okay?  You were acting strange when we met yesterday as well.”

Mark swallowed loudly and tried not to make direct eye contact.  He knew he couldn’t handle that just yet.  “I’m fine.”

Jinyoung didn’t look convinced but he decided to let go of his chin and let Mark breathe.   “Alright then.” 

Just when Mark thought he was free he felt Jinyoung’s hand on his forehead.

“Are you sick?  You’ve been kind of red since yesterday.  You’re really hot too.”  Jinyoung looked concerned and Mark wasn’t sure what to say.

“No, I’m in good health… I’m just… anxious?”  _No!  That’s not what I wanted to say!_

“Anxious?  About the wedding you mean?” That was definitely not what Mark was anxious about but he decided that was a good response.

“Yes!  The wedding is in just a few months…”

“I heard.”  Jinyoung finally removed his hand and Mark wanted to put up some sort of barrier just so that he would stop touching him out of nowhere.  “You shouldn’t be worried though.  We all have to go through this process, it’s part of our lifestyle.”

“Oh, so you’ve already married?”  Mark shouldn’t care, but he did.

“Oh, no!”  Jinyoung chuckled a bit.  “Let’s just say… I don’t think I’ll be finding a wife anytime soon.”  Mark was about to question him but Jinyoung changed the subject before he could ask what he meant.  “Really, you’ve got the best wife in the northern kingdom.  No regrets allowed!”

“I guess…”

“You guess?  My sister is the complete package. “He spun around and leaned against one of the shelves dramatically.  “You don’t understand how hard it was for me to let her go…”  He put his hands over his heart in mock sadness.  “You better be a good brother-in-law. “

Mark just nodded.  Every single type of thought was flowing through his mind and he was uncertain about everything.

“Not very talkative, are you?  That’s okay.  I enjoy silence more than most people, which would explain why I’m here.”  Jinyoung gestured to their surroundings.

“You like to read?”

“I love to read.  I spend more time here than anyone else. “Jinyoung noticed that he had left the fallen books scattered all over the ground and walked over to start picking them up.  “They’re so much to read, I haven’t even gotten through a quarter of them yet.  The collection is amazing.”  Mark walked over to join him in picking up the books.  “Do you enjoy reading as well?”

“Ah well, not really.  Sorry.”  They both reached to grab the same book and Mark drew back his hand so quickly Jinyoung just laughed at him.

“That’s alright, it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.”  Jinyoung examined the pages of the heavy tome that fell on his head before putting it back on the shelf and getting up.  “Why are you here in the library then, if I might ask?”

“I just needed somewhere quiet to think.”

“That’s respectable; I’m surprised you even found this place.”

“Yes.  I found it.”  Mark was frustrated by the way he fumbled over his words.  He probably sounded like he had the intellect of a ten-year-old.  “Are you alright?  I mean your head…”  Mark took notice of the large bump that formed on his temple.

“Oh, I’ll be fine!  Believe it or not, this is not the first time this has happened.  I really should use the ladder when I want to reach a book up high… I was so sure it was low enough .”  Jinyoung looked up at Mark and stopped mid sentence.   “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“It’s alright!  I don’t mind.”  Mark wanted to bang his head against the wall repeatedly.  He wasn’t making a good impression and he knew Jinyoung was probably judging him.

“You still seem kind of nervous.  You don’t need to feel uncomfortable around me you know; I’m not your wife.  It’s nice you care so much about making a good impression on me.”

Mark was sweating and he needed to escape somehow.  Luckily, his angel came to save him under the guise of a man dressed in a servant’s outfit with dark hair and strong features.  Jinyoung jumped when he heard his voice because his back was facing the entrance.

“Jinyoung, you’re needed downstairs.” 

“Ah, Jaebum, don’t sneak up on me like that! Is it your goal in life to scare me?”

“You’re needed downstairs.”  The man deadpanned.

Jinyoung just groaned and reluctantly walked towards the door.  He turned around and called out to Mark before he left.  “Hey, it was nice seeing you again.  My evaluation of your suitability as a brother-in-law isn’t over just yet!  Meet me here tomorrow and maybe we could talk again?”

Mark nodded way too eagerly and Jinyoung threw him the most handsome smile he’d ever seen.

When the door closed and he was alone again he sighed heavily.  _I’m royally screwed._

* * *

Mark felt like he had left the pot and jumped right into the fire when he went back to his room and found a very serious Jackson sitting on his bed. 

“I told you we were going to talk.”  Jackson motioned for him to sit down next to him.  Mark still had time to make a run for it but he decided he couldn’t avoid him forever.

He sat down beside Jackson and braced himself.

“Mark, you know we’re best friends, right?  We share everything with each other, or at least, that’s what I thought.”  Mark felt kind of hurt, even though it was his fault for trying to hide things from him.  “You’re not normal, that’s for sure, but you’ve been acting even weirder than usual since this whole engagement thing.  I thought you were completely confident about this whole thing?  What happened to ‘no regrets’?”

Mark wanted to tell Jackson everything that was on his mind, and why he was feeling this way, but truthfully he wasn’t even sure what he was feeling himself.  “I’m not sure what’s going on.  Part of me is still confident but there’s a part of me that wishes I never agreed to this, and it’s growing larger every day.”

“Well first, have to remind you that I thought this was a bad idea from the beginning.”  Mark hit him on the shoulder and Jackson pretended that it actually hurt.  “Anyways, what made you start doubting yourself?  You’re usually pretty set in your decisions.  This is kind of unlike you.”

Mark wasn’t sure if he should tell Jackson all the details but he realized that there was no way he was going to keep his sanity if he kept these weird feelings trapped inside.  He trusted Jackson.  “Well, I was confident, at first.”

Mark paused and Jackson waited patiently for Mark to find the right words.

“They hosted a party in honour of our engagement the same night.  I was feeling okay about the decision then as well.” Mark’s mouth twisted as he finally got to the crux of his story.

“And then… you started doubting yourself when….”  Jackson eased him forward.

“We did partner dancing… I danced with Sooyoung but then we switched partners.  The last person I was partnered with—“ 

“Oh my _god_!” Jackson shot up from his seat on the best and gasped loudly.  “You’re in love with another girl!”

“What? No, I’m not.  That’s impossible.”  Jackson sat himself back down and started suspiciously at Mark.

“You were about to say you start having second thoughts after you danced with her, am I right?”

“No, just let me finish properly.”  Jackson gave him a scrutinizing gaze.  “You see, there were uneven partners so my last partner was a guy actually…”

“Oh my _god_!” Jackson shot up from his seat again, gasping.  “You’re in love with another guy!”

“Jackson, for god’s sake will you stop jumping to conclusions?”

“Well, you were definitely going to say you danced with the guy and suddenly felt like you didn’t want to marry your fiancé?  Am I right?”  Jackson was still standing but he leaned forward to stare straight into Mark’s eyes.

“I wasn’t going to phrase it like that but I guess… in summary… yes, that’s what happened.”  After Jackson had stated it so plainly that Mark almost didn’t want to believe him.

“Well, now that’s cleared up.  Why do you think you’re so full of doubt and anxiousness?  It has to be because of him.”

“Are you saying that I _like_ him?”  Mark felt weird even saying that sentence.  “In a romantic sense?”

“That would make everything make sense, am I right?”

“I can’t though, that’s just silly.  He’s a _guy_ Jackson, I don’t like him.”

Jackson just started laughing and patted him on the head.  “Oh, my poor Markie-pooh, so sheltered, so innocent.  Cooped up in the palace all your life…”

“Jackson, seriously stop.  You’re not making any sense.  I can’t like him, _he’s a guy_.”  Mark’s mind was racing, rapidly shifting and rotating puzzle pieces in his mind, trying to fit them together.

“Let me rephrase this for you then, Mark.  You like girls then, right?  How many girls have you liked?”

Mark stared everywhere but Jackson’s face.  “I mean, I haven’t liked any of them seriously yet but—“

“Really, Mark, 22 years and you haven’t had the slightest crush on any girl?”

“I haven’t had a crush on a guy either Jackson, so I don’t know what kind of point you’re trying to make.”

Jackson just sighed and started pacing back and forth in front of Mark.  “Do you remember Jonghyun?  He worked in the kitchen for a couple of years back in the palace.”

Mark remembered.  Kind of, but he still didn’t know where Jackson was going with this line of questioning.  “Yeah, I kind of remember him.  Why?”

“One time he was frosting the cakes in the lobby and you kept telling me what nice arms he had…”

Oh, Mark did remember that.  “So what?  He did have nice arms.  Can’t I appreciate arms?” Now that Mark thought about it, he definitely thought Jonghyun was kind of attractive, but he didn’t think much of it at the time.

“Well, okay.  What about Sungjong?  He was on the serving staff.  You said he was really cute and that you had t fight the urge to give him cheek kisses every time you saw him.”

Cheek kisses were innocent, and he was super cute.  “I didn’t want to kiss him because I liked him, Jackson, I wanted to give him platonic kisses because he was cute, and that was six years ago!  He’s not even that cute anymore.”  Well, if he was being completely honest with himself he wanted to give him much more than cheek kisses, but he was barely 15 years old when this happened.  Every time that thought crossed his mind he pushed it right back into the depths of his mind, no matter the fact that it nagged him almost constantly.

“Alright, alright, fair enough. “  Jackson stopped pacing and turned around to face him again.  “What about _Lee Junho_?”

Jackson and smirking and Mark suddenly realized it was going to be hard to deny this one.  “What about him?”  Mark tried to act like he was clueless.

“You know you told me what a nice butt he had every single day for a year,”  Jackson smiled teasingly at him.  “You were seriously obsessed with him.”

 “Okay, first of all, everyone thought he had a nice butt, not just me.  Even you agreed with me!”

“I’m not the one in denial here.    At least, my attraction ended there, you know what you said to me one day?  You told me that you wished he stuck around for longer so that you could get to know him.”

“…did I say that?”  Mark was still trying to deny his actions.  He could barely remember saying all these things without a second thought.

“Yes!  You definitely said that.”

“Okay, but ‘get to know’ doesn’t have to mean anything weird.  I could’ve just wanted to be his friend?”

“Well Mark, is that true?  Did you just want to be his _friend_?”

Junho had been perfect in Mark’s eyes.  It wasn’t even just that he was definitely attracted to him physically _– what_ – but even if he just looked his way and flashed his eye smile he could feel his heart skip a beat _._ He did manage to start a conversation with him one day, but it went awkwardly enough to make Mark forget about all the senseless thoughts in his mind and just give up on whatever he was trying to pursue.  The whole time he wasn’t sure what these feelings were but the more he thought about it the more he realized he must’ve had feelings beyond that of a casual friendship.

When Junho announced he was getting engaged he tried hard to hide the fact that he felt like he couldn’t breathe properly.  All he remembered doing was locking himself in the bathroom for two hours until he felt like he was okay to face the outside world.  Nobody had really known about that except for him.  Even Jackson barely sensed something was up, or so he thought.

“No?  I mean… no. I kind of… I honestly wasn’t sure what I wanted.”  Mark racked his mind over and over, more puzzle pieces aligning and falling into place the more he thought.

“Well, you didn’t want to just be his friend you wanted to be, more than a friend?  As in you…”  Jackson urged Mark on to try to get him to finish his thought.

“I… wanted… to be more than friends with him?”

“Yes, and that means…?”  If Mark’s mind wasn’t so muddled he would be annoyed at the way Jackson was talking to him like he was a baby.

“I…”  Jackson had put his jokes away and finally decided to look at him with genuine concern.

That was when the last puzzle piece fell into place.

The realization him hard despite the fact he had known for years, technically.  He had been dismissing his feelings for so long it had become normal to be in constant denial. 

 “I like guys.” 

Jackson‘s face lit up.  “There it is!  You finally said it!  Hey, aren’t you relieved?”  Mark was kind of just staring at him blankly.  “Mark, are you okay?”

“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your kudos and comments! <3


	4. Chapter 4

“How long did you know?”  Mark was lying on his bed, face buried in his pillow.  He hadn’t thrown up but he was still in a state of disbelief.

“Well, I had my suspicions since the day I met you, but after Junho, it was kind of obvious.”  Mark kind of wanted to throw the pillow at him but then he wouldn’t have anywhere to hide.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”  Mark felt a bit betrayed.

“Mark, this isn’t something that I’m supposed to tell you!  Even if I had, I doubt you would’ve believed me.  Self-realization was the key.”   

Mark groaned into his pillow.  “This is a disaster.”

“Are you okay Mark? I didn’t think you’d be this…”

“Upset?  Devastated?  Scared?”  Mark felt sick.  In his heart, he knew there was no denying the way he feels anymore but his mind kept telling him that what he was feeling was wrong.  So many things made sense now but he still didn’t want to believe himself.   “I’m abnormal, a freak, _disgusting_.”

Jackson sat down next to him on the bed and tried to get him to lift his head from his pillow.  “Hey!  Don’t say things that aren’t true.”

“It is true!  That’s exactly what everyone would say if I told them.” Jackson kept trying to pull him up but Mark wasn’t budging. 

“Then don’t tell anyone.”

“I wasn’t planning to, it’s probably an offense!  If they get wind of this I’ll be sent to the middle of town to be hung, or burned alive or…”

Jackson hit him hard on the back to shut him up. “You’re not a witch Mark, you just like guys.  Big deal.”

“How are you so calm about this?  Don’t you think I’m disgusting?”  Mark finally turned around to look at him; his eyes were red and swollen. 

Jackson panicked a bit seeing the state Mark was in.  “No! Of course not!  I could never find you disgusting Mark, truly.  I mean, I can’t say that I’m not attracted to guys either so-“

Mark slapped a hand across Jackson’s mouth before he could continue talking (he had learned from experience that was the easiest way to shut him up).  “Wait, Jackson, what did you just say?”

Jackson looked at him for a second after Mark removed his hand before he repeated what he said.  “I don’t find you disgusting and I can’t say that I’m not attracted to guys too—“

Mark felt himself slowly forgetting about the initial shock if his realization and was now more curious about Jackson.  “You like guys?  I was pretty sure you liked girls… don’t lie to make me feel better.”

“I like girls, guys, everyone really.  It’s never been a weird thing for me, no judgment.  Why should you limit yourself to only one gender?”  Mark knew by now how to tell when Jackson was joking and when he was being serious.

Mark was shocked to find this out.  Not that he had ever put a lot of thought into it, but Jackson did seem to be open to a lot of people not really caring about who they were.  He would happily get touchy with everyone.  “Why didn’t you ever tell me that?  What happened to _best friends tell each other everything_?”

“I didn’t know how you would react, I mean, considering your first thought was that they should be hung or burned alive maybe it was a good call…”  Jackson was trying to lead the conversation back into a less serious zone but Mark wasn’t going to allow that just yet.

Mark was more curious than anything.  “When did you realize that you… you were like this?”

“I mean, there was no sudden realization, I always knew I was like this.  It was always natural for me to like everyone the same way; it never really occurred to me that there was anything wrong with that way of thinking.  It’s just the way I am.”  Mark was staring at him intently.

The puzzle was complete but the picture was clearer now.  “I understand…”  Mark finally felt a bit relieved, not only knowing Jackson was in a similar position but now that he understood his feelings towards everything a bit more.  “Wait, you don’t have a crush on me, right?”

Jackson threw him the most disgusted face he could come up with.  “I can’t believe you just asked me that.  That was so… typical.  I feel like _I’m_ going to throw up.”  When Mark just kept staring at him he realized he was waiting for an actual answer.  “No!  God no!  Mark, if I had a crush on you trust me, you would’ve known by now.”

“Well, you are kind of touchy.”

“I’m touchy with everyone.”  Jackson groaned and tried to change the subject.  “Anyways, now that our little secret sharing rendezvous is over, don’t tell anyone about this that you don’t trust.  It is actually dangerous for the wrong people to find out.”

“Relax, I wasn’t planning on telling anyone but you, I’m still not sure if this is even okay to feel like this...”  Mark was dealing with so many conflicting emotions he felt like his heart was fighting a battle with his mind, neither side close to victory.

“If you’re still unsure then why don’t we just run it as a test case?  You don’t try to suppress anything you feel from now on, and if you find out it’s really nothing you can just forget this ever happened.   Just don’t ignore any of your true feelings from now on.”

Jackson was right.  He was always right when it came to situations like these, no matter how much he hated to admit it.  “Deal.”

No matter how hesitant Mark was feeling he decided to take everything in stride.  He wouldn’t be feeling this way without a reason.

Jackson just smiled and tackled him back down on the bed in a bone-crushing hug.  Mark decided not to complain and just let Jackson hug it out.

* * *

 Dinner time was hectic.  He was guided to the larger dining hall and was seated near Sooyoung at a long dinner table.  Servants were all running around trying to prepare everything so that it was perfect.

Queen and King Park were seated closer to the middle and that was already a ways away from him, then at the end of the table…

“Hey, I think that guy over there is waving at you.” Jackson said from behind him. Sure enough, Mark looked up to see Jinyoung frantically waving his hand from the opposite side of the table, quite a distance away from him.  Mark waved back shyly, wondering why he was so excited to greet him.

“Hey, Mark, is that guy, you know _, the guy_?”  Jackson asked from behind him only to be shushed by Mark as he gestured to Sooyoung who was sitting right next to him.

“Mark,” Sooyoung spoke up next to him and he jumped, not expecting it.  “Do you know my brother?  He keeps waving over here.”

Mark heard Jackson snort with laughter behind him, trying to hold it in.  _Great._

“Oh, yes.  We’ve met once or twice.”  Mark was trying to think of a way to discreetly slap Jackson across the face without making a scene.

“Ah, sorry.  He’s kind of weird.  He didn’t say anything bad about me, right?”

“Actually, he said a lot of great things about you.”

“Oh!  That’s… surprising.”  It was hard to tell how she felt about her brother purely from her actions.  Mark wondered if they were close.

Jackson decided this was the perfect moment to lean over and start whispering in his ear, as he’d finally been able to reign in his laughter.  “That guy you have a crush on is your future wife’s brother?  Seriously?  I thought you were pretty boring Mark but this sounds like a scene from a novel!”

“Jackson, be quiet!”  He said in a hushed shout.  This time Mark did manage to discreetly elbow him in the ribs.  Sooyoung seemed to notice but decided not to question them.

“Mark that actually hurt this time!”  Jackson rubbed the sore spot with a pained expression on his face. 

“You can’t just be saying things like this, whispers or not.”  

“Fine, I’ll keep my teasing for when we’re alone.  I have to go work on the serving staff anyways.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to make a couple of trips to the other side of the table to get a closer look at this guy—“

“You say anything to him I swear, Jackson…”  Mark could think of numerous scenarios that could play out if Jackson decided to talk to Jinyoung and they all ended badly. 

“Alright!  I get it, I’m leaving, and your wife seems to be staring at you anyways.”  With that Jackson left and he turned around to face a confused looking Park Sooyoung.

“S-sorry about that. “  He genuinely hoped that she hadn’t been able to catch any parts of their conversation.  He tried to change the subject before she got the chance to question him.  “So, what’s for dinner tonight?”

She listed off the usual five-course meal for Tuesdays and he could feel himself zoning out by the time she got to the third course.  Small talk didn’t come naturally to him, especially when the other made no effort to actually try to engage him, so they ate in silence for the most part.  The only sounds that could be heard were the clanking of utensils against their plates and the soft melodies of a piano being played.  He wasn’t sure if anyone at the table was talking, the rest of the family too far to tell if they were having hushed conversations.

The atmosphere was cold and he was used to it.  His family dinners often felt the same.  Even if the family wanted to talk it was hardly welcomed, his parents seemed to be set on keeping subjects strictly formal.  He preferred not to speak at all.

He inhaled course after course as it was laid before him.  Whoever thought combining breakfast and lunch into one meal obviously had a small appetite. It was had been torture for his stomach waiting for the dinner hour to begin.

He finished the last bites of his meal before anyone else and decided to just kind of sit there and wait for others to finish.  He wasn’t aware of the way the household worked yet.  He would rather stay put and not come off as rude. 

He found himself looking back down to the opposite side of the table.  Jinyoung sat alone on one end.  He assumed the usual set up would be for each sibling to sit on the far ends and the parents sat in the middle, which was the opposite of the way his own family sat together.  He decided it must’ve been something specific to the northern kingdom.

Jinyoung was still eating.  He looked content, carefully picking things off his plate as he sat alone.  He must’ve been staring for a moment too long because he felt someone nudge him on his shoulder.

“If you’re finished you may excuse yourself, just call someone over to collect your plate.”  Sooyoung said from beside him, noticing his chewing sounds had stopped.

“Oh, right. I wasn’t sure.”  Mark had trouble addressing her seriously.  His emotions were so conflicted he didn’t even want to think about the fact that he had to be married in a few short months.  Their conversations were short and strained and he knew she was starting to pick up on his apprehensive vibes.  For the most part, she didn’t seem upset by it; she mostly just kept her distance, hoping he would open up to her when he was ready to.  He appreciated that.  She was so good to him and he felt bad he was unable to reciprocate her feelings.

Sooyoung finished up her plate as well and took the initiative to call someone over before he could.   Once they were both excused she told him she would be going to bed early and disappeared before he could say anything.  He didn’t mind.

He was about to retire to his room when he heard a sound that could only mean nothing but trouble.  High-pitched laughter reverberated through the now almost silent hall.  He turned his head and found the source immediately, closer to the end of the hall.  Jackson had his arms on top of the piano in an unprofessional way as he tried to make conversation with the piano player, who had stopped playing and looked like his whole body was recoiling backward trying to get away from him.  Jackson was never known for his professionalism. 

Mark found himself speed walking towards the piano in an attempt to save the boy from the incoming storm that was Jackson Wang.  

“You see, I’m actually not all that bad at the piano myself!  I learned a bit when I was younger, I mean it’s been a while since I’ve played a full song, but I’m sure I still know a bit!”  Mark arrived just as Jackson plopped himself down on the piano chair next to the boy and started hitting keys, testing the sound.  “Yes… this all seems so familiar.”

“I’m sorry but I get paid to play the piano and I’m not playing the piano when I really should be playing the piano so if you don’t mind I need to…”  His voice kept getting quieter until it faded into mumbles after he noticed Jackson wasn’t exactly paying attention to him.

“Jackson, why are you tormenting this innocent boy?”  Jackson jumped a bit but then just looked annoyed when he realized it was just him.

“Tormenting?  I just came over here because the piano playing was really nice, I had to see who was behind it!  It reminded me of my childhood.  Look, I can play!”  Jackson reached his arms out, shoving the boy farther towards the edge of the bench and reaching his arm across his body to hit the keys.  The boy just looked at him with an expression that screamed _help._

Just as Mark was about to step into the situation Jackson was abruptly yanked up from the bench by the collar of his shirt.  Jackson yelped when he realized he was face to face with a very angry-looking someone.

“What do you think you’re doing?”  The man asked him still holding Jackson up by the collar so that their faces were only a few centimetres apart.  He stared him down.

“What the _hell_?  Are you nuts?  I was just checking out the piano!” Jackson struggled in his grip but he wasn’t able to detach himself, despite being rather strong.  “Put me down!”

“It looked more like you were harassing him to me.  Apologize and maybe I’ll consider putting you down.”  The man didn’t even flinch despite how much Jackson was squirming around in his grip.

“Hey, um, he really wasn’t harassing me, he was kind of bothering me but, there’s no need…”  The boy spoke up from the piano.

“He had his arm across your body,” He turned back to face Jackson.  “You weren’t doing anything weird, were you?”  Mark understood how the scene could’ve looked strange depending on your viewpoint

“I was just trying to play the piano!  You know, that move where you slide your hand down all the keys from the end… you know...”  Jackson chuckled nervously but the man just looked like he was getting more annoyed.

“Jaebum, let go of him.”  Yet another voice chimed, but this one he knew very well.  Jinyoung stood in front of the piano with his arms crossed, glaring at the man.

He dropped Jackson abruptly causing him to fall back on the bench.   The man finally looked up and noticed Mark was there, he was probably too concerned with the other situation he didn’t notice.  “My apologies, Prince Tuan,” He bowed in his presence.  “I acted out of line.  Please forgive me.”

He would have to get used to people treating him like he was royalty all the time, back in his own home he was pretty informal with everyone. 

The boy sitting at the piano seemed to finally put two and two together and jumped out from his chair.  “Oh!  Prince Tuan!  Your highness!”  He dropped into a full bow before him.

Mark wasn’t sure how to reply and Jinyoung took it upon himself to try to mediate everything instead.  “Jaebum, I don’t think he’s the one you should be apologizing to,” He looked over at Jackson.  “You’re Prince Tuan’s personal servant, correct?”

“Yes!  That’s me!  I’m Jackson, nice to _finally_ meet you!”  Mark tried not to smack his forehead in embarrassment over the way Jackson grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. 

The man he called Jaebum just looked at him and scoffed.  “I don’t need to apologize; he was the one who was manhandling Youngjae.  He should apologize.”

Jackson was about to yell back at him but Jinyoung stopped him before he could.  “Youngjae is fine, nothing seemed to have happened.  Jackson, don’t bother Youngjae anymore.  Jaebum, don’t overreact.  Youngjae… tell Jaebum to stop freaking out when somebody tries to talk to you.”  With that, he pulled Jaebum along with him over to Mark. “Sorry, this is Jaebum.  He’s my personal servant; he’s harmless, for the most part.”

Jaebum eyed him up and down before bowing again.  “Nice to meet your acquaintance, officially.”  He didn’t seem much for conversations.

 “You don’t need to bow every time, I prefer being informal.”  Mark replied.

Jaebum just nodded quickly, looking like he just wanted to leave.  Jinyoung gave his a disapproving glance before walking over and pulling the other boy towards him.  “This is Youngjae, he’s a servant but also amazing at playing the piano.  He’s definitely harmless.”

“Hi!  I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you!  I’m Youngjae! Congrats on getting engaged!  Sooyoung is really pretty!  You’re very lucky!”  Youngjae seemed like the type to always talk in shouts rather than normal speech.  Maybe he and Jackson would be able to get along after all.

“Nice to meet you, Youngjae.”  Mark smiled at him and he looked pleased with his reaction.  _Cute._

Jackson hopped up from the bench and immediately went over to greet Youngjae himself.  “Sorry if I was intimidating earlier!  I was just excited to see the piano; your playing is amazing by the way.  It brought back so many memories!”

Youngjae seemed to have realized he was harmless and bowed to him.  “It’s alright.  I just wasn’t used to meeting anyone so…excited.  I don’t mind!  Jackson, was it?”

“Yes!  That’s me!  Your playing was so inspiring!  I feel rejuvenated just listening to it.”  Jackson always sounded so genuine, and now Youngjae was smiling at him.   “Hey, you think maybe you could teach me piano sometime?  I really want to get back into it!”

Youngjae was about to reply but he was grabbed by the waist and pulled away before he could.  “We’re leaving, nice meeting everyone.”  Jaebum said as he dragged Youngjae along by the waist. Youngjae tried to get loose with no success.  He eventually gave up and just decided to wave goodbye before he was pulled out of sight.

Jinyoung sighed and turned back to Mark and Jackson.  “Don’t worry about them.  I’m still trying to figure them out.” 

Jackson looked disappointed for a moment then he looked over to Jinyoung and immediately got a spring back into his step and he went over to talk to him.  “So, Prince Park was it?  What do you like to do for fun?  Are you an evening or morning person?  What’s your sign—“ 

Mark grabbed Jackson by the arm pulled him backward.  “Actually, I’m tired.  We’re going to bed.”

“Why am I going to bed if you’re the one who’s tired—hey!”  Mark yanked his arm so that he was standing behind him.

“It was nice seeing you again Prince Park.  Sorry about Jackson.”  Mark bowed in apology and Jinyoung just smiled, his eyes crinkling as usual.

“It’s not a problem.  He seems… nice.”  Jinyoung took a step forward and leaned into Mark to whisper in his ear.  “Don’t forget you promised to meet me tomorrow.”  Mark was flustered again and Jinyoung laughed softly.  He waved goodbye and disappeared in the opposite direction.

Jackson took one look at Mark’s flushed face and started laughing.  “Oh man, you’ve got it _bad_.”

Mark was annoyed with Jackson already and he wasn’t making the situation any better.  “Jackson, why do you always seem to get yourself into trouble?  I thought that guy was about to choke you with your own tie for a second there.”

“No way!  I didn’t mind it that much anyways.  His face was really close to mine… and _damn_ he was good looking.”  Jackson pretended to fan himself and Mark just stood there staring at him, flabbergasted.

“Jackson… you’re ridiculous.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -  
> Thanks you for all the kudos and comments! They are always appreciated!! Hope you have/had a nice day!!


	5. Chapter 5

Mark found himself back in the library after another awkward brunch with his fiancé.  This time, he managed to eat all his food quickly so he wouldn’t miss Jinyoung.  Sooyoung seemed confused but decided to let him go.

Jinyoung didn’t really specify a time he would be here, so Mark decided to just hang out there all day just to make sure he wouldn’t miss him. 

Mark sat in an armchair trying to find a casual looking position.  He crossed one leg over the other and then uncrossed it.  He rested his head against his hand and then set it back down on the arm of the chair.  He was ridiculously nervous, he felt like it was already his wedding day.

After Mark had fidgeted in his chair for almost forty minutes Jinyoung finally appeared in the library.

“Mark!  You’re here!  You’ve passed phase one.” 

Mark jumped when he heard his voice and his body ended up in the most awkward, non-casual position yet. “I’m sorry, what?”

Jinyoung noticed how he tried to discreetly arrange himself in a normal position and laughed a bit.  “Phase one of me determining whether you’re a good guy for my sister.  I asked you to meet me here today and here you are!  I didn’t even have to wait.  Punctuality is an essential trait to have.”

“Oh yes, of course.”  Mark wouldn’t exactly call himself punctual; he had just been anticipating coming to the library so much he ended up arriving early.

Jinyoung walked to pull another armchair across the room so that it faced Mark and sat down across from him.  “Now phase two!”

Mark was frightened at the setup.  “Is this an interview?”

“I would rather refer to it as a deep conversation to learn more about you and if your personality traits mesh with my sister.”  Jinyoung said in a smooth voice.  Mark had to pull his eyes up after he caught himself staring at his lips.

“Isn’t that a bit pointless?  We’re still getting married either way.”

“I guess that’s true… but I’d still like to know what kind of guy you are.  I mean, you came here today.  I’d hope you’d try to enjoy my company just a bit.”  Jinyoung pouted and Mark felt guilty.

“No!  I enjoy your company; it’s just that… never mind.  Go ahead!  Ask me things!”  Mark shifted into an overly cheery mood and Jinyoung just kind of looked at him confused.  He sank back into his chair after he realized he’d been acting completely unnatural again.

“You’re an interesting one, Mark.  Different from all the other guys…” 

“Other guys?” 

“Well, Sooyoung hasn’t been properly arranged to be married before this but we’ve had many people asking to be her suitor.  All of them have been creepy guys who just wanted her for her looks.  They were disgusting… I couldn’t let them have her.”  Jinyoung crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, a displeased look on his face.

“So you were able to get them to leave her alone?” 

“It wasn’t that hard.  A bit of dramatic acting a few choice words and they would be begging to not be a part of this family.  Sooyoung wasn’t always too happy with me, though, she seems way too willing to just marry anyone.  She was the one who asked to be fixed into a marriage as soon as possible.”  Jinyoung’s pouting was starting to look less angry and more adorable by the second and Mark had to reign in all his focus to keep the conversation going.

“Is that why Sooyoung doesn’t like you?”  Jinyoung looked shocked at this accusation and Mark immediately retracted his words.  “I mean, she didn’t think you liked her that much when I talked to her at dinner.”

“I love Sooyoung, always have, she’s my baby sister.  The thing is; I love her too much.  It was all cute and fun being the protective older brother until she hit puberty and suddenly I went from being someone she admired to just being plain annoying.  She’s been distancing herself from me ever since.” 

Jinyoung looked hurt as he talked.  It was obvious how much he cared for his sister.

“It was even worse after I’d chased away all those guys she insisted on marrying.  I think she forced herself into this arranged marriage just to spite me.”  Jinyoung looked his straight in the eyes and smirked.  Mark tried to keep himself from avoiding his glare even though he knew he was starting to get flustered.  “Looks like her plan failed.  She ended up getting paired with a decent guy.”

“Ah, um.  Thanks?”  Jinyoung laughed at his reaction.

“Are you embarrassed?  You’re really cute.  Where did they find a guy like you?”  Jinyoung scooted back up to the front of the chair and leaned into Mark.  “Anyways, all you’ve done is ask me questions.  _I’m_ supposed to be the one asking the questions.”

Mark instinctively leaned back as Jinyoung got closer, but that just caused Jinyoung to lean in to match his movements.  “You can ask me a-anything, I guess.”

“ _Prince Tuan_.”  Mark tried not to think about how Jinyoung lowered his voice and said that in a teasing tone.  It didn’t turn him on.  Nope, not at all.  “You’re such an enigma.  Tell me, what’s on your mind?”

What was on his mind?  A lot of things, like how great Jinyoung looked today with his bangs pushed up off his forehead, or the fact that his eyes were such a beautiful shade of brown, and his skin looked so soft and inviting and…

Jinyoung tilted his head to the side, awaiting an answer.

“Nothing.”                                                                                     

“Nothing?  How can you be thinking about nothing?”

“I just… there’s nothing to think about.” He probably sounded less than thrilling right now but his mind refused to come up with any thoughts that were not centered on how infatuated he was with Jinyoung.

“Alright then, what about Sooyoung?  I know the marriage was arranged but what do you think of her?  You’re obviously not fawning over her like most guys.”

Mark tried to think about what Jinyoung would like to hear than what he actually felt.  “She’s nice and beautiful.  She’s great.”

“Stop lying.”  Mark was immediately taken aback by how calmly he said that.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t lie to me.  I can tell you’re hardly interested in her.  It’s obvious from your body language, even from just observing you two once at dinner time.”  Mark must’ve looked like he just got caught committing a crime.  “Don’t worry.  I’m not upset; I just want you to be honest with me.”

Mark realized that lying any further would only make the situation worse.  “Honestly, I do think she’s a nice a girl.  I’m just… not attracted to her, in a romantic way?”  Mark kept his eyes on the ground, not wanting to know what Jinyoung thought about his confession.  “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me.  Love is not always the first priority in an arranged marriage anyways.  You both agreed to this regardless of personal feelings.  I prefer you over any of those guys who were just eyeing her like she was prey.”  Jinyoung reached out and grabbed his chin to lift his head to face him and Mark shifted his eyes away from looking directly at his face.  It felt like he was staring into the sun.  “So, you’re really not attracted to her at all? She’s regarded as one of the most beautiful princesses in the entire kingdom.”

“No…”

Jinyoung was still holding his chin as he inched his face closer to Mark’s.  “Interesting.”  Mark was trying not to look at him but he could tell how close he was when he felt his breath against his face.

Mark regretted the moment his eyes finally looked forward and met Jinyoung’s.  Mark’s heart was beating out of his chest as his eyes scanned Jinyoung’s face.  After a second of intense staring from both parties Jinyoung’s eyes crinkled up and he started to giggle before he finally let go of Mark’s chin.

“Sorry, it’s really funny to tease you.  It almost seems like you’re more nervous around me than my sister.”

Jinyoung’s ability to read people was scarily accurate, or maybe he was just being too obvious.  Mark could only reply with a high-pitched nervous giggle and Jinyoung wouldn’t stop smiling at him. 

“I like you.”  Jinyoung told him through his laughter and Mark abruptly stopped laughing.

“What!?”

“I like you!  You’re really funny.” Not exactly the response Mark was hoping for, but it was a start.  

“So,” Jinyoung leaned in, engaging him in conversation. “What do you like to do for fun?”

* * *

 

Talking to Jinyoung was different from talking to others.  Conversation flowed naturally as he didn’t pressure him to talk when he didn’t want to, and always gave him time to express himself before trying to talk over him.  It was refreshing.  He wasn’t sure how long they had talked for, probably hours.  It was hard to keep track of time when you were enjoying yourself this much.  He was sure he hadn’t even talked to someone for such a long time in his entire life.

“Jinyoung!”  A voice yelled snapping them both out of the conversation they were both deeply engrossed in.

“Huh, Jaebum?  Why are you yelling?”  Jinyoung immediately got up from his chair, as if he’d been caught breaking rules.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you normally but it seems that you were too busy to hear me.”  Jinyoung looked at Mark then back at Jaebum, an ashamed expression on his face.

“Sorry, what time is it?  Is it time for evening lessons already?”

“You’ve been here for five hours; you need to go downstairs immediately.”  Jaebum finished, before walking out, certain Jinyoung wouldn’t disobey him.

Jinyoung looked back at Mark apologetically.  “I guess I have to go then...”  Jinyoung seemed as though he was reluctant to leave.

Mark stood up and bowed to Jinyoung.  “I’ll see you then…”

“Tomorrow, same place, same time?  Unless, you don’t want to hang out with me anymore.”  Jinyoung was purposely acting cute and Mark wasn’t sure if he knew how much he was driving Mark crazy. 

“No!  I’ll be here.”

“Alright then… Mark.  I can call you that right?  We’re friends now.  You can call me Jinyoung too if you want.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow… Jinyoung.”

Mark thought he saw a bit of pink on Jinyoung’s cheeks after he said his name, but he was sure he was imagining things.

* * *

 

“You’re so stiff.”  Jinyoung said to him, calmly.

“W-what?!”

“You know stiff… standoffish.  You need to loosen up.”  Mark made a mental note to get his mind out of the gutter.

The next day they had met in the library but Jinyoung said they shouldn’t stay cooped up in there forever and pulled him out to one of the gardens instead, ignoring the weird looks from the workers as he literally dragged him down the hallways.

“Sorry, I’m not that great at conversation.”

“You’re good at conversations once you’re comfortable with someone, from what I’ve observed.”  Jinyoung and he were sitting on the grass under a tree.  Jinyoung said he often liked to come here to read or study. 

“Are you saying that I’m comfortable with you?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”  Jinyoung smiled and Mark resisted the urge to reach out and squeeze his cheeks.

Mark wasn’t sure what to say and Jinyoung decided to set his head on Mark’s shoulders.  

“I’m comfortable with you.”  Jinyoung said, and he nudged his body closer and settled his head higher up on Mark’s shoulder towards his neck.

Mark wasn’t sure if he wanted to melt into the ground or superglue Jinyoung’s head to his shoulder because he never wanted to be separated from him.

“Do you know why I like it here?”  Mark nodded ‘no’ and Jinyoung pointed in front of him to part of the fencing that surrounded the entire property.  “See the vines growing all over the fence?  Just before the spring is over they’ll bloom into flowers and cover the entire fence.”

Mark looked from side to side and couldn’t see where the fences ended or started, the property was huge.  Beyond the fence, there was a dense forest that seemed to go on forever.  “Hope I’ll still be here to see it.”

Jinyoung lied down on the grass on his back, and Mark tried not to be too upset about the fact that his shoulder was now empty.  “You don’t have a set date for the wedding right?”

“No, they just said a couple of months.  I should still be here to see it…”  Mark thought about how he would be moving out with Sooyoung once he was married.  He glanced over at Jinyoung who had his eyes closed, completely relaxing and realized what he was feeling was dangerous.

He pushed down thoughts and feelings, hoping they wouldn’t resurface and ruin the moment any further. 

Mark lied back down in the grass next to Jinyoung and closed his eyes as well.  He felt comfortable like this; neither was saying anything but the atmosphere felt so natural he didn’t want to get up. 

Just as he thought he might doze off he heard Jinyoung start yelling.

“Youngjae!!”  Jinyoung was sitting up, wrestling with a dog that refused to stay in his grip. “Come get your dog off me!”

Seconds later Youngjae was running up to them and pulling the white fluff ball that Jinyoung had said was a dog from him.  “Sorry!  She just ran off, I couldn’t keep up…”

“Does she have some sort of vendetta against me?  She only listens to you.”  Jinyoung took notice of how intently Mark was staring at the dog Youngjae was cradling in his arms.

“You’re allowed to keep a dog?”  Mark asked.

“Oh no, technically she’s not my dog… she’s a stray.”  Youngjae admitted.

“Youngjae found her one night and decided to feed her, she won’t stop coming back now.”  Jinyoung finished.

Youngjae set the dog down in front of him and she excitedly ran up to him.  “Her name is Coco!  She seems to like you.”

Mark instantly forgot about anything that didn’t pertain to the dog.  He reached out to pet her as she excitedly tried to jump up on his lap.  He started laughing and picked her up in his arms and hugged her.  “Coco!  Hi!  I’m Mark!”  She didn’t try to escape and Mark snuggled her into his cheek.

“Why do dogs only hate me?”  Jinyoung reached out and tried to pet her but she instantly avoided his touch and clung to Mark.  “Coco, why do you hate me?”  He spoke directly to the dog.

Mark got up and put Coco on the ground next to him and walked around experimentally.  Coco followed obediently.  “Coco!”  Mark set off running across the garden and Coco just started running after him.  The way she stumbled over her feet trying to run was absolutely adorable. 

He was running all over the place lost in a world that consisted only of puppies and happiness until he looked up and saw Jinyoung just staring at him and smiling.  He failed to notice the planter on the ground in front of him and ran right into it, tripping and falling on his face.

“Oh my god, Mark!”  Jinyoung and Youngjae both ran over to him as Mark turned over and groaned.  Coco had crawled on him and started licking his face in comfort.

“I’m fine I’m- Coco stop, that tickles.”  Mark pulled Coco off his face but she just kept climbing back on him so eventually, Youngjae had to pull her off.

Jinyoung dropped to his knees and ran his hand across his cheek.  “You have a scratch here…”  Mark was suddenly aware of hose close Jinyoung’s face was and how his hand was caressing his cheek and he could feel himself start sweating more than he already was from the running.

“Sorry, got a little carried away.  I’m fine.”  Jinyoung moved so that Mark could pick himself up.  “Dogs are my weakness.”

“I could tell.”  Jinyoung chuckled while helping Mark up.  “It’s cute.  It’s as if you’re in another world.”

_No, you’re the cute one._

“You wouldn’t get so carried away you’d forget all about me, right?”  Jinyoung smirked and playfully hit his arm.  Mark took a second to process the teasing tone and the playfulness.  _Is he trying to flirt with me… no, I’m imagining things.  There’s no way._

“Of course not, I wouldn’t ever forget about you.”  Mark grinned while he said this, mimicking the way Jinyoung talked to him.

They were just staring at each other while smiling, stuck in a trance until they heard a meek ‘excuse me’ coming from beside them.

“Uh… should I leave?”  Youngjae asked, standing awkwardly with Coco squirming in his arms.

This time, Jinyoung was the one who got flustered while Mark just laughed it off.

* * *

 

It became a ritual for them to meet every day in the library. 

Jinyoung spent many hours studying but when he was free he was always with Mark.

They toured the palace together, hung out in the gardens, and played sports.  Yet, nothing was better than the days they spent hours in the library just talking.  He never thought he would enjoy talking, of all things, but Jinyoung was just so cute, they both loved to tease each other and by the time they finished talking Mark’s face would hurt from smiling too much.  Conversation flowed easily between them.

He was starting to really appreciate his time and the Park residence.

For all the wrong reasons.

It was always lingering over their shoulders.  The elephant in the room that neither of them dared to bring up.  The fact that he hardly spent time with his future fiancé or the fact that the time was ticking down to the day of his wedding, the way he dreaded the day he would have to leave Jinyoung. He kept everything bottled inside to not ruin the present.

Today as he walked up the library he stopped in front of the door when he heard shouting coming from inside.

“Jinyoung!  You’re not getting any younger; I don’t understand why you haven’t pursued anyone yet.”  A man’s voice could be heard.  “Your mother and I are worried that by the time you’re _ready_ nobody will want you.”

“I told you, I’m not ready to get married yet.  I have one more year of studies, that’s what I want to focus on.”  Jinyoung was in there as well.

“That’s not an excuse, you can continue with studies after marriage.  Look at your sister, so willing to be arranged for marriage!  You should be ashamed she’s to be wed before you.”

“We’re two different people.  Just because she wants to get married doesn’t mean I’m ready.”

“Then when? Jinyoung _when_ are you going to be ready?  I’m arranging for you to meet with some more girls—“

“No!  I’ve said no a million times, I’m _not_ meeting with them.”

“Then you shall be arranged to a marriage, it’s the only way.”

“I disagree.  You can’t force me to do it against my will.”

“You’ll agree to it, I know you’ll make the right decision.”  Mark heard footsteps approaching and he barely as able to get out of the before the door opened in his face. 

He met eyes with the man and immediately fell into a 90-degree bow. “King Park.”

“Oh, Prince Tuan.”  He nodded to him.  “Do you know where Sooyoung is?”

“Sorry your majesty, I do not know.”  Mark bowed again after each sentence.

“Do you not care?”  Mark made the mistake of making eye contact with him, his stern expressed scared him.

“No…I…”  He was at a loss for words.

“Forget it.  Maybe you can talk some sense into the disgrace in there, at least you’re sensible enough to know when it’s time to become useful to your family.”  With that, he walked out, and Mark didn’t dare to move until he was completely out of sight.

Once he was sure the coast was clear he ran into the library and found Jinyoung crouched down beside a shelf staring at the ground.  “Jinyoung…”

“Am I broken?”  Mark had thought he had been crying, but his voice was clear.

“What?”

“No matter how hard my parents try, no matter how many girls they introduce to me, no matter how many years it’s been, I’m not interested.  I’ve seen others find their wives, get married and live happily.  I’ve been waiting for that moment too, when I find the person I want to be with for the rest of my life, and my heart just knows.”

Mark stepped closer to Jinyoung and crouched down beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder.  “And you haven’t experienced that yet?”

“It’s weird, I feel like all these years I’ve been waiting for something to happen and when it finally did I tried to deny it.  My heart disagreed with my brain and it’s been an endless battle trying to sort it out.”

Mark felt his stomach turn.  He was shaken by how closely Jinyoung’s words resonated with him.

“I kept telling myself that maybe marriage isn’t for me, maybe falling in love isn’t for me, and maybe my happy ending doesn’t exist.”  Jinyoung turned to face him and the emotion in his expression made Mark falter. “I was wrong, though.”

“What made you change your mind?”  Jinyoung settled on his knees and drifted towards Mark.  Mark wasn’t expecting it so he fell over onto his backside.  Jinyoung just kept getting closer, until his face was directly in front of him.

His breath ghosted over Mark’s face as he answered in a tone so soft Mark could barely hear him.

“You.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -  
> I have some major assignments due this week and then exams until the 28th of April, so I'm sorry but don't be too upset if I don't update between now and then! This story is my baby though, I promise I'll get to work on it hardcore after then. <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: homophobia, death mention

Mark felt like somebody had pushed him underwater.  All the air was forced from his lungs and he was struggling to breathe.  The illusory water around him muffled Jinyoung’s voice.  Mark’s ears were clogged and unhearing.   There was no way this moment could be real.

“What?”  There were so many things flowing through Mark’s mind and all of them made him sink deeper into the depths of a place he knew he couldn’t escape from.

“I’m sorry!  I didn’t say… I...”  Jinyoung’s eyes were full of shame as he stared at Mark.  “Please don’t leave.”

“No, don’t apologize.”  Mark was grasping for something to say but all he wanted was some indication that this wasn’t a dream.  He got up on his knees like Jinyoung and took his arm.  “Say it again, what you said before.  Please.”

Jinyoung looked confused.  “Say… what I said before…”

“What made you change your mind?”  Jinyoung was flushed and he was staring at the ground.

“You, Mark.”  He said it a bit firmer this time, his eyes rising up to meet Mark’s.  “In my mind I still can’t explain it, but the one my heart wants is you.”

Mark should’ve been getting closer to the surface but instead, he kept sinking deeper.  So deep the water was black and he didn’t feel the need to breathe anymore.  There was no going back; the water’s surface was now a distant memory.  Strangely, he felt content.

“Mark, why are you smiling?”  He hadn’t noticed he was smiling until Jinyoung said something.  “Are you… okay?  It’s fine if you don’t want to meet anymore but… stop smiling so menacingly at me.”

“It’s funny.”  Jinyoung still looked so fragile and all Mark wanted to do was spend the rest of his like reassuring him that everything was okay.  “I thought I would ever meet someone I truly admired, that’s why I agreed to be married.  Then you came along and ruined that plan so royally, I should hate you, really.”

It was Jinyoung’s turn to gawk at him. 

“I couldn’t hate you, though.  It’s quite the opposite.  I really, _really_ like you.”  Mark pushed away the mantra in the back of his mind that kept telling him that this was wrong, _so wrong_.

“Wait, Mark, no.”  Jinyoung looked like he was trying to search for a logical solution to explain this situation but was failing.  “In that way… Mark… You don’t understand.  I like you as in… romantically.”

“I like you the same way.”

“No, you can’t.  You really can’t.  This is…”  Jinyoung was visibly shaking.   “This is so illicit… so...”

 “Stop thinking for a moment,” Jinyoung’s gaze was fixed on his.  “Let your mind take a rest and follow the actions of your heart.”  Mark remembered the deal he had made with Jackson to not suppress what he felt, and he was hoping Jinyoung would do the same.

Jinyoung took a deep breath to calm down.  “Okay.”  Jinyoung’s reached up and took Mark’s face between both of his hands, resting them against either cheek.  Mark could feel all his confidence from before melting into the ground.

Mark was burning slowly from how intimate the moment was.  Jinyoung brought his face closer until the tips of their noses grazed against each other.  Mark felt dizzy in the most wonderful way; his hands lay on his knees trembling in anticipation.

Jinyoung brought his face upwards and laid the softest kiss against his forehead, Mark barely felt it.  Then he set his gaze back down to meet Mark’s.

 “Is this okay?” 

_Definitely not okay._

Mark nodded his head _yes._

Jinyoung brought his lips to the side and ghosted them over Mark’s right cheek, giving him another kiss.  He asked again.

“Is this okay?”

_I shouldn’t be doing this._

Mark nodded his head _yes._

Jinyoung brought his lips to his left cheek, giving him a firmer kiss.  Mark could hear himself breathing louder than normal.  Jinyoung’s voice came out in a throaty whisper.

“Is this okay?”

_This is completely wrong._

Mark nodded his head _yes._

Jinyoung looked for any signs of hesitation in Mark’s face as he closed the gap between their mouths at an excruciatingly slow pace. 

They stumbled at first, their noses knocking together clumsily and both of their eyes shooting open in embarrassment.

“S-sorry.”  Jinyoung managed to squeak out before Mark nodded for him to continue.

 Jinyoung fixed his positioning by tilting to his side just a bit and shut his eyes again, trying not to ruin the moment. 

Mark stopped breathing altogether when Jinyoung _finally_ let his lips meet Mark’s, a surge of electricity running through his body.

Mark instinctively deepened the kiss, wanting to be completely shrouded in the warmth radiating from Jinyoung’s body and the heavenly feeling of Jinyoung’s mouth against his.

Jinyoung faltered for a second before he leaned into Mark’s advances.  Mark wrapped his arms around Jinyoung’s lower body and pulled him closer, completely lost in the moment.

In the back of his mind, there was a little voice telling him that this was wrong.  Kissing another guy was _wrong_.  Kissing your fiancé’s brother was _wrong_.  Kissing Park Jinyoung was _wrong_.  There was another voice, though, one that kept pushing him forward that spoke louder than all others.

How could something so wrong feel so _right?_

It felt like hours had gone by when Jinyoung finally pulled away from the kiss and Mark suddenly became aware of reality again.  His eyes widened and his hands went up to cover his mouth when he realized what he had just done.

“Mark… oh my god…”  Mark shook the shocked expression off his face and grabbed Jinyoung to pull him into a hug.

“Jinyoung, don’t worry… this is fine.”

“It’s not fine, you know that.”

Mark sighed and pulled Jinyoung closer to him, trying to reassure him through his touch.  “Stop thinking unnecessary things and just let it happen.”

_We’ll figure the rest out later._

* * *

 Mark and Jinyoung decided to keep whatever they had between themselves a secret for the time being.  If this kind of information leaked out the consequences would be harsh, they both knew that.

Jinyoung was extremely hesitant at first, still doubtful that Mark could even feel the same way he did.  However, he warmed up quickly to the way Mark expressed his feelings in more deliberate ways, like the way he let his touches linger longer than they should, or the way he would gaze at him until he became flustered, and of course, countless stolen kisses between the shelves of the library.

Things were more or less the same as before, except with a lot more freedom and earnest adoration.

They had done a good job at keeping everything a secret as well, for the most part.  Jackson had asked him why he smiled so much recently, and Mark had brushed it off but he was sure Jackson knew something was up.

Then there was Sooyoung who he met with every morning for brunch and then they parted separate ways.  She didn’t seem like she knew about anything, nor did she even really care.  He was grateful and curious about that, but Jinyoung said she was hard to figure out at times, so he ignored it.

Today it was a beautiful day outside, it was almost a shame that Mark and Jinyoung were cooped up in the library.  The shame quickly disappeared when Jinyoung laughed and pressed his lips to Mark’s again and again.

“Mark! Are you in here?!”  Mark jumped off Jinyoung and looked down the hall. _I thought nobody ever came here, why was everyone suddenly aware this was where he liked to hang out?_

Jinyoung pouted but let Mark go back down to the entrance while trailing behind him.

“Jackson?” 

“Mark!  Pal!  It feels like it’s been ages since I saw you!  I’m your personal servant you know… you need anything I’m here… not like I miss you or anything.”  Jackson peered around him and eyed Jinyoung. “He meets you and suddenly there no time for Jackson…”  Jackson’s words trailed off and he started mumbling to himself.

“Uh, Jackson?  Did you actually need anything?”  Mark asked, hoping he could get him to leave so he could get back to what he was doing before.

“Oh!  Right, your fiancé was looking for you.” 

“What, Sooyoung?  Really?  For what?”  She rarely saw him during the day so it was a bit suspicious that she would need him for anything.

“She didn’t tell me!  She just told me to come get you; she’s waiting in the main lobby.” Mark exchanged glances with Jinyoung and sighed.

“Alright, I guess I’ll have to go.”  Mark dragged his feet across the floor towards the door reluctantly. 

“Don’t you worry about your little companion here,” Jackson swung his arm around Jinyoung’s neck in a way that was completely inappropriate from a servant to do to someone of such high stature.  “I’ll keep him company!”

Jinyoung looked a bit petrified and Mark just shrugged.  “You should run while you still have the chance,” Jackson glared at him and Mark just laughed.  “I’m kidding, don’t worry I swear he’s a fun guy to hang around!  You’ll be fine.”

With that, Mark smiled and bid farewell.  Hopefully, Jackson wouldn’t divulge any unsavoury information about him.

* * *

 “Mark!  My love!”  As soon as Mark entered the lobby he was tackled by Sooyoung roping her arms around his neck.  “See dad, he’s right here.  He’ll escort me to town!”

Sooyoung was clinging on to him so tightly he was having trouble breathing, but he didn’t want to push her off him so he tried to bear it and smile.

“Alright, I’ll always support you two spending more time together,” The king said.  “I have other duties I will attend to; I’ll leave this to you.”

She continued to hug him until her dad walked out of sight then she let him go and groaned loudly.  “Sorry about that, but we need to go down to town to make an appearance at the opening of a new school.  My father was going to go with me but I insisted we should go together.  I hope you don’t mind.”  She bowed to him sincerely.

“It’s no problem, I can’t say no to my fiancé, can I?”  In reality, Mark wasn’t too pleased with having to leave the castle while he was spending time with Jinyoung, but he didn’t want to make a fuss about it.

“I really appreciate it, I just can’t stand…”  A set of ten servants approached them.

“We are here to escort you to town, please follow us out to the carriage.”  One said, before turning around to lead the way.

Mark turned back to Sooyoung as they walked.  “What were you saying?”

She waved him off. “Never mind, forget I said anything.”

* * *

 The visit to the new school was overwhelming.  As soon as Sooyoung stepped out of the carriage there were loud cheers, it seemed as though she was well liked among the townspeople.  People were also scrambling to get a glimpse of Mark, as they had never seen his face since the royal engagement was announced.  There was a lot of yelling, most comments were lost in all the shouting, but he did hear a lot of comments about his appearance and how lucky the princess was.  He still didn’t see why everyone thought he was so attractive.

After the appearance Sooyoung asked to walk through the town, all ten escorts crowding them on both sides to keep the people away.  It was bizarre but he was used to it.  The townspeople were always excited to catch a glimpse of them; the crowds would die down once the people were satisfied with the view.

“Thank you again, for coming.”  Sooyoung said to him, he could tell that she was genuinely thankful.

“It’s not a problem.  It should be considered my duty.”

“I know you don’t really like me, or want to hang out with spend more time than necessary with me, and I’m not angry about it.  I just… really needed you to come today.  I’ll try not to have it happen in the future.”  Sooyoung smiled as to lighten the mood.

“Why do you think I don’t like you?  I…”  Well, he didn’t hate her, but he definitely did not like her in the way she would have hoped.  “I do like you.”

“Thank you for trying to make me feel better, but really.  It’s alright.  No personal feelings need to be attached to this marriage, I just want to get this over with and I can finally leave this place…”  Sooyoung paused for a moment when she realized she had said something inappropriate.  “I mean, _we_ can leave, and start our life together.”  She took a look back behind them; the escorts didn’t seem to be paying any attention to their conversation.

“You seem very excited to get married.” 

Sooyoung sighed.  “I just…”  She dropped her tone down to almost a whisper.  “Listen, my father isn’t exactly my favourite person.  He only cares about himself, and he’s extremely inquisitive.  I’d be wary of him, don’t trust him for a second.  If I had to come down here with him it would’ve been a nightmare, he’s always asking me if we are truly going to get married.  I don’t know why he doubts our relationship; I haven’t given him any reason to think otherwise…”

Mark stiffened at her comment.  That was strange.  If Sooyoung hadn’t done anything to raise suspicions, there was no way he would have known and him and Jinyoung, they’d been keeping this secret even from their friends, but then why…

Mark was so lost in thought he didn’t even realize the crowd around them had disappeared completely.

“…you have violated section 13 of the criminal code by performing acts of gross indecency!”  Shouting and booing rang through the town as Mark and Sooyoung turned to see a large gathering in the middle of the main section of the shopping district.  A man stood upon a wooden stand, a noose around his neck. “You will be hanged by the neck until dead and thereafter your body buried within the precincts of the prison!”

Mark looked at Sooyoung with a grave expression on his face.  He knew public executions happened in the town occasionally, but he never thought he would ever witness one himself.  “It’s just an execution, don’t—“Sooyoung tried to speak but was interrupted by the yelling.

“Sir, do you have any reason why the sentence of death should not be pronounced upon you?”  Mark was a bit far away, but he saw the man quivering as he tried to speak.

“I p-plead...”  The man was sweating through his clothes, his entire body drenched.  “I plead on the devotion to the one I love!  You can’t do this—“

“May the lord have mercy on your soul.”  With that last sentence, the man was pushed over the edge and Sooyoung grabbed him by the head and turned him around to face her.

“Don’t look.”  She said; her eyes somber and her hands shaking.

Mark felt numb.  He didn’t say anything as Sooyoung pulled him along back to carriage quickly.  He didn’t say anything the throughout the trip back to the castle.  He didn’t say anything as he brushed passed her as they walked through the doors, hurrying to him room and lying down on his bed.

He was hoping he could sleep away the anguish he felt deep in his soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some free time today, so here's a wee lil update since I felt bad about the cliffhanger lmao.


	7. Chapter 7

Mark finally woke up from his nap.  He felt warmness radiating from his side and groaned, instincts kicking in.

“Jackson, how many time have I told you-“Mark turned around to give him a shove but instead of facing his servant he was nose to nose with someone else.

“Jackson?  You thought I was Jackson?  Is he often in bed with you? Do you have something you need to tell me?”

Mark was so startled he almost rolled off the bed.  “Jinyoung? What are you…?”

“ _Someone_ decided to leave and not come and tell me when they came back.  I saw Sooyoung and I couldn’t help but wonder where you were.”  Jinyoung scooted closer to Mark.

Mark instinctively let his arm reach around Jinyoung waist and pulled him in even closer.  “Sorry, I wasn’t feeling so good when I got back so I thought a bit of rest might help.”

Jinyoung reached out to push the bangs out of Mark’s face.  “It’s alright, I was just overly worried.”

Mark started to lean his face towards his Jinyoung’s but he stopped himself when he heard a very loud clearing of the throat next to him.

“Um, I see that you guys are in your own little world again, but can you maybe save the flirting for when I’m not in the room?” 

This time, Mark was startled enough to propel away from Jinyoung, causing him to topple over the bed in the process.  “Jackson!?  How long were you standing there?”

“I was standing here the whole time; you were just too _distracted_ to notice me, “Jackson walked over to help Mark up while Jinyoung was laughing on the bed.  “You’re the one who left me with Prince Park, remember?”

Mark did vaguely remember Jinyoung being kidnapped by Jackson before he left. 

“I was the one who let him in here since he wouldn’t stop nagging wondering where you were.”  Jackson sat down on the side of the bed with Jinyoung.  “He’s a little boring, but I _guess_ he’s a good guy.”

“Boring?  I’m not boring!”  Jinyoung slapped Jackson on the arm.

“You asked me if I wanted to hear about your top five book recommendations from the palace library… is there anyone who wants to hear about that?”  Jackson retorted.  “If Mark said he was interested, he was lying.”

Mark sent a disapproving glance before looking back at Jinyoung.  “I swear, I was interested.”

“It’s fine, I knew you weren’t interested.  I’m just happy you listened.”  Jinyoung smiled and Mark felt the butterflies in his stomach again.

“He also asked me all about what you were like!  I made sure to tell him all the embarrassing things you’ve done for the past six years.”  Jackson sent an evil smile his way and Mark panicked.

“Wait, you didn’t say anything weird, right?”  Mark looked at Jinyoung for answers.

“Don’t worry; all your secrets are safe with me!”  Jinyoung’s smirked and Mark could tell he knew too much.

Mark groaned and decided to just ignore the weird friendship that was brewing between his best friend and his boyfriend. 

Jinyoung hopped off the bed and gave Mark a quick hug.  “I need to leave for evening studies, but maybe I’ll see after dinner?”

Mark suddenly remembered he needed to talk with Jinyoung.  He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say exactly, but there were too many thoughts that he needed to get off his chest.  “Yes, can you meet me here again after dinner?  I wanted to ask you something.”

“No problem.”  Jinyoung walked over to the door.   “Bye Jackson!”  He smirked before as he looked over to Mark.  “Bye… little cock.”  He rushed out the door before Mark could even react and Jackson burst out into a fit of laughter next to him.

Mark grabbed Jackson by the shoulders and tackled him into the bed. He glared at him from above. 

“You’re dead to me.”

* * *

 

Mark didn’t have anything to do while he waited for dinner to begin so he opted to join Jackson on his mission to find Jaebum; he apparently hadn’t ‘reached his daily quota of annoying him’ yet.

Mark had only met Jaebum a few times and from those interactions he definitely would not want to mess with him, but Jackson said he wasn’t really that scary and it was actually quite fun.  Mark still didn’t want to try it.

They found him quite easily; he was in one of the music rooms hovering over Youngjae as he practiced the piano.

“Prince Tuan!”  Youngjae bolted up from his seat and bowed as soon as he entered the room, Jaebum followed suit more casually.

“Youngjae!”  Jackson skipped over to Youngjae and took a seat next to him on the piano.  “There’s my favourite piano player!”  Jackson reached out to ruffle his hair like he was some sort of puppy and Youngjae tried to swat his hand away while laughing.

“Jackson, we’re actually trying to rehearse right now.  I told you Youngjae can’t give any piano lessons this week.”  Jaebum looked tense, but that just seemed to fuel Jackson even more.

“I know!  Can’t I still watch you guys rehearse?  Just quietly observing, it’ll be like I’m not even here.”  Jaebum scoffed and even Mark had to smile a bit.  Jackson wasn’t capable of ‘quietly observing’.

“What are you guys rehearsing for?”  Mark stepped into the conversation before Jaebum attempted to strangle Jackson again.

“There’s a party tomorrow night, Jaebum is going to be singing as part of the entertainment!”  Youngjae declared proudly.

Mark looked at Jaebum questioningly.  “You sing?” 

“It’s just a hobby.  I work here anyways so they don’t have to try to find external performers.” 

Jackson hopped up and swung his arm around Jaebum.  “He’s amazing! I was truly blown away the first time I heard him sing, It’s no wonder he’s official entertainment.”

Jaebum removed Jackson’s arm from his neck and crossed his arms, avoiding everyone’s gaze. “It’s really nothing.  I just do it because it’s requested of me.”

Jackson sat back down next to Youngjae and swung his arm around him instead, he didn’t try to escape like Jaebum.  They had come a long way from their first meeting, Mark thought.

“Youngjae is an amazing singer too!  I’ve only heard him once but his voice is incredible!”  Jackson was smiling and shaking Youngjae.

Youngjae turned his gaze to the ground. “Thank you, Jackson…  Jaebum is much better, though.  I’ve hardly trained my voice.”

“You’re both singers?  Are you going to be singing together tomorrow night?”  Mark asked.

“No!  I’m not really hired as a singer here, I just provide piano accompaniment.”  Youngjae said sheepishly.  “Besides, I don’t think I could sing with Jaebum in a duet, his voice is so much better than mine.”

“Nonsense,” Jaebum’s voice was very sharp, everyone stood at attention when he spoke.  “Your voice is amazing, I’d be honoured to sing together with you one day.”

Youngjae was blushing heavily as he tried to hide his face.  “Thank you.  I hope we can sing together s-someday as well.”

Jackson looked between both of them and smirked.  He took Youngjae’s face in his hands and pulled it up to face him, exposing how red he was.  “Aw, you’re so cute Youngjae, the cutest ever!”  Jackson squished his cheeks and Youngjae squirmed. 

Jaebum closed his eyes and tried to ignore it but Mark finally saw him snap as he walked over and removed Jackson’s hands forcefully.  “Stop.”

“What’s wrong Jaebum, are you jealous?”  Jackson stood up and grabbed Jaebums’s face.  “You’re also very cute Jaebum! So cute!”

Jaebum yelled at Jackson before prying his hands off and pushing Jackson away.  “Alright, that’s enough.  You’re leaving now.”  Jackson tried to speak again but Jaebum kept talking before he could start.  “Ah.  No.  Leave. Now.”  Jaebum almost pushed him right out the door.

Mark sighed and escorted himself out as well.  Jackson just giggled to himself when they were out in the hallway.

“I believe that’s my daily quota of annoyance completed for today.”

* * *

 

An uneventful dinner passed by and Mark now sat across from Jinyoung on his bed.

“You look tense, what’s wrong?”  Jinyoung put a hand on Mark’s shoulder to try to comfort him.

Mark couldn’t keep eye contact with him.  “I’ve just been feeling uneasy since this morning.”

“Did something happen?”

“Kind of… but that’s not the main issue.”  Mark took Jinyoung’s hand off his shoulder.  “It’s about us, our relationship.  You know this isn’t allowed right?  If we reveal this to the wrong person it would be the end for both of us.”

Jinyoung’s face dropped; his expression stone cold.  “What are you trying to say?”

“I don’t know what I’m trying to say.  All I know is that I don’t want you to ever get hurt because of me.”

“So do you want to stop being together… like this?”  Jinyoung voice wavered and Mark’s chest felt tight.

“No!  Jinyoung, that’s not what I want, but I’m just thinking about your safety.  I couldn’t handle it if you got hurt because of this; I don’t want to be the reason you… you…”

“I know what happens to people like us Mark, I’m not stupid.”  He spoke sharply, in a way that reminded him of Jaebum.  

Mark’s head snapped up, his full attention on Jinyoung’s face.

“I know what I’m feeling is inherently wrong.  I know we could be prosecuted for this.  I knew all that, yet I was still willing to take that risk for you, Mark.”  Mark felt like Jinyoung stabbed him with every sentence he spoke.

Mark wanted to be with Jinyoung so badly but the thought of anything ever happening to him hurt him to the core.  He didn’t want to think about it and he never wanted it to happen.  “Jinyoung…”

“You can’t just make me feel this way and leave like nothing happened.”  Jinyoung spoke in a soft whisper, his voice cracking along with Mark’s heart.

Mark wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to scream.  “I don’t want to leave you Jinyoung, but…”

“Forget it.”  Jinyoung got up and left, slamming Mark’s room door behind him.

Mark was certain he had just made a terrible mistake.

* * *

 

Mark didn’t sleep at all that night; his heart kept racing from his encounter before.  He never said he wanted Jinyoung to leave, but he knew it was to protect Jinyoung.  They couldn’t keep up this façade forever.    The months would go by and his wedding date would arrive and then they’d have no choice but to split anyways.  He was just speeding up what was going to happen anyways.

_Right?_

Mark didn’t want to get out of bed but he had to show up to eat brunch with Sooyoung.  She could tell how low his mood was; even Sungjae showed some genuine concern and asked if he needed anything.  He stayed mostly quiet and as soon as brunch was over he locked himself in his room again.

Trapped with only his thoughts to keep him company he continued to try to convince himself he was doing the right thing, but every time he thought about Jinyoung he wanted to march downstairs to the library and hold in his arms and tell him he’s sorry and that he didn’t mean a word he said. _As if he’d forgive me that easily, he was really upset, rightfully so._

Eventually, he fell asleep, his body giving up after lying awake all the night before.  He was only woken up by Jackson shaking him awake.

“Mark!  Why are you asleep?  There’s a ball tonight, you need to get ready!”  Jackson yelled in his ear.

Mark had completely forgotten about the party.  He didn’t even know why they were having a party, nor did he really care.  He was just hoping to avoid Jinyoung for the night.

“Okay, I’m up.  I’ll meet you downstairs.”

* * *

 

The party was a more subdued one compared to his engagement party.  There were still a lot of people, but the atmosphere was more intimate.  That just meant he’d be more likely to see Jinyoung tonight.  He was frightened just thinking about how he would react to him.  Would he ignore him completely, get angry at him?  He deserved whatever happened, but for now, he glued himself to Sooyoung’s side and tried to blend in.

“Mark, are you sure you’re okay?  If you’re not feeling well you can leave.”  Sooyoung turned to him with a concerned look on her face.

“No, I wouldn’t want to make you look bad.  I’m fine, really.”  Mark tried to lie but he could see Sooyoung wasn’t buying it.

Mark was about to try and sound more convincing when he spotted Jinyoung out of the corner of his eyes and regretted being alive.

The king was with him and there were three girls swarming around him, trying to talk with him.

Sooyoung caught him staring and dived into an explanation, “This party was mainly to introduce some of the kingdom’s princesses to my brother.  He needs to be wed soon so my father is trying his best to make it happen as soon as possible.”

They had talked about it before, and he had also overheard them talk about it.  Jinyoung had always been completely against the idea but looking at him now had him completely crushed.  He was talking to all of them, a glass of wine in his hand and a huge smile on his face.  They were chatting and laughing and Mark felt sick just looking at how happy he was.

He tugged on Sooyoung’s sleeve, “Can we go somewhere else?  I don’t want to, uh-“

“Huh?  That’s alright; I think I see some girls I know over there.  Mind if I show off my fiancé a bit?”  Sooyoung smiled at him and he felt a bit better.

“Sure, anything’s fine.”  _I just don’t want to stay here._

* * *

 

An hour later the party was still going and the entertainment was rolling out.  He was anticipating seeing Jaebum and Youngjae perform but right before they were set to go on he was met with someone urgently tapping on his shoulder.

“Jaebum?  What’s wrong?”    Jaebum was the last person he expected to be talking to him right before his performance.

“Prince Tuan,” He gave a hurried bow.  “I need you to do me a favour.”

Mark nodded; there was no way he could say no to Jaebum.

“Take Jinyoung up to his room and make sure he goes to bed, I’d do it myself but I need to perform.  It’s really important.”  Jaebum was being awfully serious.

“Jinyoung’s not exactly happy with me right now, I really don’t think—“

“I don’t really care what’s going on between you two but I need you to do this now, it’s really important.”  Before Mark even had a chance to reply Jaebum waved him off and ran to go get ready to perform.

Mark was screaming internally but he didn’t want to find out what would happen if he decided to not listen to Jaebum. 

Jinyoung wasn’t too hard to find, after wandering around for five minutes he heard his loud laughter coming from one of the corners of the room.  He was still holding a glass of wine in his hand while he talked to a girl.  He was talking animatedly and she looked like she wanted to leave but didn’t know how to.

Mark took a deep breath and walked over to them, standing between to separate them. “J-Jinyoung…”

“Mark!!”  Jinyoung yelled a bit too loudly.  People turned to look his way and his body curled up trying to hide in plain sight. 

The girl standing behind him took this as her cue to leave.  “Jinyoung, Jaebum asked me to just take you up to—“

“Mark!! I missed you, where have you been?!”  Jinyoung was smiling and laughing and Mark was very confused.

More people were starting to stare and he decided to take Jinyoung by the hand and forcibly pull him from the room, he followed along obediently.  “Jinyoung, are you… alright?”

“I’m fine!  Fine!  Really fine!”  Jinyoung said, slapping him on the shoulder in the process. 

Jinyoung smelled highly of alcohol and Mark snatched the empty glass from his hand.  _It’s hard to get drunk on wine alone, there no way…_ “How many of these did you drink?”

“I stopped counting after… five.”  _Ah, so that’s why Jaebum was so worried._

Mark just grabbed his hand and dragged him alone, Jinyoung stumbling and laughing behind him but following diligently.   “You’re so strong! Mark!”

“Alright.”  Mark wasn’t sure how to reply to the nonsense Jinyoung was spewing.

When they got up to his room and they both got inside Jinyoung broke off from his grasp and went to close the door behind him.

“Jinyoung, what are you doing?”

Jinyoung smirked before pushing Mark up against his door and kissing him forcibly. 

Mark was startled. Jinyoung tasted of alcohol and Mark was trying to push him off him but Jinyoung pressed his entire body up again him.  He was finally able to separate them,  Jinyoung looked up at him with his eyes glazed over and it turned him on way too much.  _Focus._

“Hey, Mark… I’m still upset you know. Really. Upset.”  Jinyoung was pouting; he knew Mark was weak to his pouts.  “It’s too bad you’re so… irresistible.” 

He had never heard Jinyoung talk in such a tone before.  It took sheer willpower not to give in, but then he felt Jinyoung’s hand crawling up inside his shirt and he knew this was going too far.   “Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”  Jinyoung echoed while laughing.

Mark grabbed his hand and pulled it back out from his clothes.  “You’re going to bed now.”  Mark grabbed him and almost pushed him right on top of his bed.  “I’m leaving now, you need to sleep.”

“Wait!  Don’t go!”  Before Mark knew what was happening Jinyoung pulled him down on his bed and held him down.  “Don’t leave, please.  I’m sorry.”  He slurred.

“What?” 

“Maaark!  I’m sorry I yelled at you… yesterday.  I was only angry because I knew you were right!  I just don’t know what to do!  What do we do?  I don’t want you to leave me, ever.  I just…”  Jinyoung lied down on his bed and sighed.  “I’m really tired all of a sudden.”

Mark couldn’t help but laugh.  Drunken Jinyoung was an emotional whirlwind he could not handle.  “Just sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.”  Mark crawled up and put his arms around him, and Jinyoung nestled into his embrace.  “I’m sorry too.”

Jinyoung was clinging on him tightly.  “Please stay here tonight, I don’t want to stay here alone.” 

It was a weird request, considering he probably slept in his room alone every night, but he decided not to question drunken Jinyoung.  It wasn’t like he was able to get out of his tight embrace anyways.  “Alright, don’t worry.  I won’t leave.”

After that Jinyoung fell right asleep, and Mark followed suit shortly after.

* * *

 

Mark was woken up the next morning by loud knocking on a door.  He groaned and tried to roll over, only to be greeted by the warm body of someone else.  That’s when he remembered what happened the night before.

“Ughhh…. someone please stop that knocking… it’s making my head hurt.”  Jinyoung groaned from beside him and tried to shield his ears with his pillow.

Mark suddenly realized that someone was on the other side of the door, probably wanting to come in, and he was still in bed with Jinyoung.  He sat up and tried to find someplace to hide, but the door swung open too quickly for him to get anywhere.

Mark fell back on the bed and sighed.  _Busted._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't proofread this too thoroughly, so I hope there aren't too many errors. :s  
> Thank you guys for 100+ kudos! Love you lots! Hope you guys have/had a great day!


	8. Chapter 8

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just really funny.  You _actually_ thought I didn’t know?”

Mark was expecting yelling, horror, shock.  What he wasn’t expecting was Jaebum busting into the room, staring at them for a second, and then bursting out laughing.

Jinyoung was lying down in his bed, suffering from what he called ‘the worst headache of his life’ and he couldn’t even bother to deal with the situation.  “How did you find out?”

“It was kind of obvious.  Jackson mentioned he suspected something between you two at first, and he also said Mark definitely had a crush on you,” Mark made a mental note to add another nail into Jackson’s coffin.  “You guys were always together as well.  It was the only the logical conclusion that you guys were more than friends.”

“And you’re okay with that?”  Mark asked.

“Me?  I don’t really care about you guys being together, I just think it’s a really stupid idea considering the circumstances.  You both are just setting yourselves up to get hurt.”  Mark didn’t need Jaebum to once again remind them of reality. 

Jinyoung must’ve felt the same because he just rolled over his stomach and buried his face in his pillow.  “I know that, what do you suppose we do?  It’s a bit too late to undo the feelings we have for each other, I’ve realized,” Jinyoung’s voice was muffled by the pillow.  “Shall we hop in a device that lets us skip over to a generation that allows us to be together?  If only it were that simple.”  Hung-over Jinyoung was rather brazen, Mark noticed.

“I don’t have a perfect solution for you, but I think Sooyoung deserves to know the truth.”  Jaebum was leaning up against Jinyoung’s door, his face completely serious.

“You want us to tell her that we’re dating?  We’ve already decided that most people can’t be trusted with this information.  If the wrong person finds out…”  Mark started, as Jinyoung seemed unwilling to speak anymore.

“You don’t need to tell her that specifically, but I think she should know that you don’t want to go through with the marriage.  I know it’s impossible to withdraw at this point but you can’t lie and continue to say you like her.  I’m sure she knows the truth partially, it’s wrong to keep lying to her like this.”

He hated to admit that Jaebum was right.  The thought of shooting Sooyoung down just like that scared him, but he knew his web of lies was only going to get larger if he didn’t tell the truth.  “Alright, I’ll talk with her…”  Mark groaned inwardly, this was going to be rough.

Jaebum smiled at them, Mark decided that he understood why Jackson said he wasn’t as cold as he seemed.  He was always a realist but his personality was surprisingly warm once you got to know him.  “Jinyoung, you need to go down for breakfast soon, and Mark you need to go down for brunch later with Sooyoung.”  Mark nodded, knowing that Jaebum meant he had to use that time to talk with her.  “I’ll be leaving now.” 

As soon as Jaebum Mark lay back on the bed and turned to Jinyoung.  “Can you breathe when your face is buried in the pillow like that?  Don’t suffocate.” 

Jinyoung rolled on his side so that they were face to face.  “Sorry, I drank my feelings away last night.  I should’ve just come to you first to apologize sober.”

“It’s alright, I’m just thankful you actually remember the whole ordeal.  I was worried you’d wake up still angry at me.”

“Don’t worry; I don’t think I’m going to blackout on just a bottle of wine.”  Jinyoung inched in closer so that he could throw an arm around Mark and pull him into a hug.

“So you also remember sticking your hand up my shirt last night?”  Mark smiled teasingly and Jinyoung flushed.  “Care to explain that?”

“I don’t remember that.”  Jinyoung tried to hide his face by burying it in Mark’s chest.

“You just said you remembered last night.”

“I have… selective memory I guess?  I only remember the important parts.”  It was obvious Jinyoung was lying but Mark thought it was cute that he was trying to maintain his innocence.

“Alright, whatever you say.”  Mark pulled his head up for a kiss but Jinyoung pulled back.

“Don’t, I probably taste like alcohol and death.”

“It’s okay.”  Mark pressed his lips to Jinyoung’s eagerly, putting a hand on the back of Jinyoung’s head and pulling him closer.  It wasn’t long until his tongue slipped past Jinyoung’s lips and he felt himself getting lost in the moment.

Jinyoung’s hand stroked his thigh softly and Mark wasn’t sure if Jinyoung was doing it on purpose or not, but it felt so intimate and satisfying that Mark whimpered when Jinyoung pulled away and his hand left his leg.  “I can’t waste any more time, I need to go down for breakfast.” 

No matter how much Mark pouted he knew he couldn’t keep him.

“Don’t worry, we can continue later if you’d like.”  Jinyoung smiled and his eyes crinkled up and Mark was one hundred percent sure there was no way he’d ever have the heart to leave him.

* * *

 

An uneventful brunch went by with Sooyoung but he made sure she didn’t leave when it was over.  He grabbed her arm and said, “We need to talk.” In a serious enough tone that she knew it was important.  She gestured for him to follow her as she walked away.

Sooyoung looked more worried than she had ever been before.  Mark waited until she pulled them into a room with no servants buzzing around.  He gathered it was a large closet of sorts.  “Okay, we can talk here and nobody is going to overhear.”

Mark wished he had planned this out more beforehand, but he didn’t know how she would’ve reacted to him pulling out a piece of paper and reading it to her.  “It’s about the wedding… and the marriage in general.”

Sooyoung’s gaze darted around and Mark was still trying to think of a way to say this without crushing her completely.  “Yes, the wedding.”  Her voice sounded timid, different from her usual confident persona.

“Listen, I don’t think… I mean… It’s not… the wedding.  I… I…”

“I can’t do it!”

It took Mark a second to realize it wasn’t him who finally said that.  “Huh?”

Sooyoung looked up at him and broke down in tears.  “I really can’t do this… the wedding.  I’m… so sorry.” 

Mark was still trying to catch up with what was happening.  His first plan was to try and comfort Sooyoung who was trying to wipe away the tears that kept falling.  “Wait, don’t cry.”  Mark tried to take her into his arms but it ended up being really awkward.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way!  All this time I just thought I would get married and move out and live my life, but my father knows.  He has to know, he keeps questioning me and keeping tabs on me, even if I do manage to get out of here there’s no way he’d let me bring him like I planned.”

“Uh.  Sorry.  I’m really not sure what you’re talking about.”  Mark didn’t know what exactly was happening.

“Wait, weren’t you trying to call me out because you knew about my relationship?”  Sooyoung’s tears stopped for a moment.

“You’re in a relationship?”  Mark looked at her quizzically.

“Oh… so you didn’t find out.”  Sooyoung put her hands on her mouth.  “Oh no.”

The irony of the situation left Mark stunned.  “Are you telling me that this whole time, you were with someone?  Romantically?  Who’s not me?”

Sooyoung seemed to have realized there was no getting out of this one anymore, so she just nodded slowly.

“And, you were planning to marry me in hopes of moving out and eventually running away with this guy instead?”

“It’s a stupid idea; I should’ve known it would’ve never worked.  I was so silly… I just don’t know what to do.  I’m sorry I’ve been lying to you… there’s nothing I can say to redeem myself.  Feel free to tell my father I have wronged you, I deserve to be punished greatly.”

Mark didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry.  “So, who’s the lucky guy?”

Sooyoung just looked up at him with confusion on her face.  “Excuse me?”

“Who are you dating?”  He asked sincerely.

Sooyoung, still dazes, decided to answer.  “Um, Sungjae.  You know him… I mean he’s kind of annoying but in an annoyingly cute way… and… wait a second.  If you didn’t ask me here to expose my relationship, what did you want to say?”

“Well since we’re sharing secrets, I was going to tell you that I have someone I like as well.  It didn’t feel proper to go through with this marriage without you knowing the truth.”  Sooyoung pushed him away from her and looked up at him in awe.

“You…. I have no right to say anything, do I?”  Sooyoung smiled her herself sadly.

“Since we’re in the same position, isn’t there a way we can fix this?”  Mark eyes lit up.  If they both wanted out of the marriage, there might be a way to stop this.

“I’m afraid there isn’t.  I’ve been looking into everything, but there’s a lot riding on this marriage, more than I knew about at least.  They’re treating this as sort of an alliance between our two nations; if anything were to happen to our bond it would affect the peace between our kingdoms.”  Mark’s eyes dimmed again at the realization. “My father has acted weird recently.  I think he knows about my relationship.  He even mentioned that he wants to push the wedding date up earlier…”

“What, earlier?”  This is the first Mark has heard this.

“He didn’t mention anything specific, but I’d stay on your toes.  He really wants to be alliances with all the kingdoms for some reason.  He even mentioned that he’s in the final stages of setting my brother up with a princess from the western kingdom to form an alliance there as well.”

Mark felt his gut twist and his chest clench.  “W-what, Jinyoung?  He’s said he doesn’t want to be arranged.”

“I doubt my father cares what he wants, he’s acting like he has some sort of bargaining chip to make sure he doesn’t decline.  I don’t know why he’s so sure he’ll agree, my brother and I are both as stubborn as he is.”

So many thoughts were coursing through Mark’s mind and every single one of them frightened him.

“Don’t worry about it too much, we still have time,” Sooyoung assured, although there was no way she could be sure about that.  “There has to be a way out of this… I’ll figure it out.”

Mark held out his hand for her to shake as if they were now partners in crime.

“Don’t worry, _we’ll_ figure it out.”

* * *

 

“You know, your sister is dating her personal servant.”

If Jinyoung was drinking something at that moment he would’ve spat it out.  “What?  Sungjae?  The annoying childish kid?”

“The one and only.”  Mark said calmly from the armchair he was sitting in the library.

“No!  Not him!  How dare he date my sister, he… wait.  My sister is dating someone that’s not you?”  Jinyoung finally realized what Mark was trying to tell him.

Mark gave him a look indicating he was telling the truth and Jinyoung looked at him shocked.  “I didn’t tell her we were together, though, I just told her I was in the same situation.”

“I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Since both of you no longer want to get married, does it still have to happen?” 

“She also mentioned that your father is keeping tabs on her at all times and that if this marriage is unsuccessful it’s going to cause tension between our kingdoms.” 

“Tension? Are you saying that if you guys aren’t to be married we could declare war against them?  That seems a bit farfetched.”

Mark didn’t even want to think about the situation escalating that far.  “I really hope not.  It’s just one marriage.  Since your father doubts if we’re going to go through with it there could be a chance that he’s on to us or your sister.”

“I spoke to him this morning briefly,” Jinyoung’s face tensed. “He told me I will be getting arranged soon but I declined.  I didn’t want to talk to him any further so I left, but I know he’s not going to let it go.”

“So you know about the marriage to a princess from the western kingdom?  Sooyoung also said he’s thinking of pushing our wedding date up.”

Jinyoung got up and slid into the chair next to Mark despite there was only room for one person and he was half sitting right on Mark’s lap.  “No… we have to do something.”

Mark was tired of thinking about the future.  The situation was continuously getting more and more hopeless. 

“Mark,” Jinyoung looked up at him curiously.  “I know you’re a prince, but let’s say you weren’t.  You had to grow up and you weren’t automatically handed the throne when it came time to take over, what would you want to do?”

That was a strange question considering the situation.  “I hadn’t really thought about that.  There’s nothing that really interests me, I’ve always thought I would just grow old and inherit the throne.”

Jinyoung didn’t seem pleased with that answer.  “Is there nothing you’re passionate about?”

“I’m passionate about _you_.”  Jinyoung hit him lightly on the shoulder and Mark laughed.

“No!  I’m talking about hobbies, not _people_.”

“Jinyoungie, there has to be a reason you’re asking this, right?”  Mark had started off thinking Jinyoung was hard to read, but now he knew him so well there was nothing that got past him.

“I don’t know… I spend a lot of time thinking about what life would be like if I weren’t a prince.  Is that weird?”

“Not at all,” Mark hated to admit he didn’t have many prospects in life.  “Do you wish you weren’t a prince?  Is there something you’d like to pursue?”

Jinyoung fidgeted with the gold buttons on his shirt.  “You have to promise not to laugh if I tell you.”

“If it’s something you want to do, of course, I wouldn’t laugh.”

Jinyoung took exhaled deeply.  “If I weren’t a prince and I was just a commoner I’d really want to try acting.”

Mar’s first thoughts were maybe scholar or librarian, but actor was new.  “That’s…”

“I know!  It’s ridiculous.”  Jinyoung buried his face in his hands.

Mark understood why Jinyoung thought it was shameful, considering actors were usually among the very poor who worked at run-down halls putting on plays, they existed purely to be entertainment for those who were richer than them.  “If it’s something you’re passionate about it doesn’t make me think of you any lesser if that’s what you want to do.”  Jinyoung head slowly crept back up to face him. “I just didn’t realize you liked to act.”

“It’s something I’ve thought about since I was a child.  My parents made me take my studies very seriously and I knew there was no way it’d ever be able to happen, but still there’s no way I’m ever going to completely forget about it.”

 “I think you’d make an excellent actor, and a handsome one too.  Everyone would fall in love with you if you were to play the lead.”  Jinyoung raised an eyebrow at the comment but Mark just smiled at him.  “It’s true.”

“Don’t flatter me.  It’s never going to happen.”  Jinyoung leaned into mark so that he was fully on his lap, his head resting on Mark’s chest.   “Sometimes I just wish I could leave and live a normal life on my own, without royal titles.  It seems crazy, I know, but maybe we’re not as better off as we think we are.”

“I know what you mean.”  Life was harder in many ways, sure, but to exist without the fact that you weren’t required to marry someone you didn’t love was enough to be envious.

“I just want to start over.  I don’t want to be born Prince Park, I want to be born as Park Jinyoung the lowly boy who pursues his dream on acting and falls in love with Mark Tuan, not Prince Tuan, and they live secretly together, but happily.” 

Mark felt his heart tug as Jinyoung spoke.  “I’m sorry it had to turn out like this.”

“You should stop apologizing.  It’s not your fault this is the life the universe chose for us.  There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“I’ll make sure it happens.” 

“What happens?”  Jinyoung looked up at him.

“Us.  Your dreams.  Everything is going to be okay in the end…” 

Mark knew it was near impossible but maybe there was a way for them to continue on together, an escape, and a path to live a life of freedom.

“I’ll figure out a way to make this all work, no matter what it takes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess we can call this... the calm before the storm part 1? I think shit is going to hit the fan in the chapter after the next one... lmao... exciting. Sorry that this is shorter and so dialogue heavy... ALSO do I have any readers that watch sungjoy on we got married?? I just watched the last episode and I cried niagara falls... for a scripted show they were so real... i miss them already... i must make them live on in fic lmao.
> 
> As usual, thank you for all the kudos and comments!! I appreciate them so much!! <3


	9. Chapter 9

Weeks went by quietly.  Everyone was on edge, just waiting for something to happen.  Mark tried to take it in stride but Jinyoung was always worried.

“You need to,” Mark peppered kisses along Jinyoung’s jaw as he spoke.  “Calm, _down._ ”  Jinyoung was pressed up against a bookshelf in the library, trapped in Mark’s arms.

Mark’s mind always got a bit hazy when his lips were on Jinyoung’s.  He did things instinctively and it was getting harder to hold back.  His leg casually slid up Jinyoung’s, trapping him even further against the shelf and he pushed him harder against the shelf and-

“Ow, ow, _ow_ …”  Mark abruptly got off of Jinyoung, realizing that he probably pushed Jinyoung too far up against the shelf.  “You’re saying I need to calm down?”

“Sorry.” Mark leaned in to give him a chaste kiss on his lips as an apology. 

Jinyoung laughed.  “It’s okay.” 

Jinyoung turned them around so Mark was pressed into the bookshelf.  Mark raised an eyebrow at him but Jinyoung just smiled cheekily before pressing his lips to Mark’s and trying to get back to the pace they were at previously.

Mark would be lying if he said he wasn’t obsessed with Jinyoung.  He was in love with him, he hadn’t voiced this directly yet but he knew he was gone from the moment he laid eyes on him, which sounded cliché but it was true.  There was always something that drew him to Jinyoung, even before he knew anything about him.  He didn’t question the way fate worked, he was just thankful.

Jinyoung’s tongue slid past his lips and down his throat in a hurry, causing Mark to whimper and Jinyoung to make an approving noise in response.  Jinyoung’s arms wrapped around his waist as they both leaned back against the shelf.  Jinyoung’s leg went up between his thighs and Mark felt his face heating up.  They had both gotten bolder as the weeks passed by but it was always Mark going for it first.  He soon realized Jinyoung’s leg wasn’t going to stop and--

“Oh my _god_.”  Mark and Jinyoung froze when they heard a third voice beside them; both too scared to turn around.  “You two… you…” 

Mark recognized the voice.  “Wait, don’t leave, don’t say anything, don’t...” 

“What… what… what are you doing?!”

* * *

 

Sooyoung hid her face in her hands, unable to even make eye contact with them as they sat together in the library.  “This is _so_ embarrassing.”

Mark and Jinyoung wanted to hide as well, they were sure this wasn’t going to happen _again._ “Jinyoung, I thought you said you locked the door this time…”

“I did!  I swear.”  Jinyoung crossed his arms; a little angry Mark didn’t trust him.

“Actually, I just got Sungjae to open it for me since I really needed to talk with Mark and I know you guys are always hanging out here…. together… oh my god.”  Sooyoung fell further into the armchair, still trying to get herself to deal with the situation.

“How did Sungjae have access to it?”  Jinyoung turned to Sooyoung, hoping she would be able to actually face them soon.

“He has his ways, he can pick locks a bit… I mean that’s not important.”  She finally looked up, her face still flushed.  “I’m sorry if I barged in unexpectedly… I just didn’t think…” 

Mark and Jinyoung exchanged glances; she obviously wasn’t taking this news as well as Jaebum or Jackson.

“I just didn’t think my own brother would be… you know.  It’s just a lot of information to process.”

“You can’t tell anyone.”  Jinyoung said sternly.

“It’s not like I can, Mark knows secrets about me too, and if either of us was found out we’re completely done for.  I wouldn’t do that to you guys.”  Sooyoung had her body angled away not to face them directly, and she still couldn’t look them in the eye. 

“Is there a good reason you had to break into the library?”  Jinyoung asked evident annoyance in his voice. 

“Well, it was something important actually,” Sooyoung finally looked towards Mark, her expression still uneasy.  “It’s our wedding; I was told this morning that my father has moved the date up to the end the week.”

Sooyoung’s words hit him like a brick.  “What, _this_ week? “  Mark looked over to Jinyoung, who looked at him with a panicked expression.

“He’s planning to officially announce it tonight at dinner.  I don’t know what to do; I just needed to tell you…”  Mark knew from Sooyoung’s expression that she was equally worried about the situation.

“He’s crazy; he can’t move a royal wedding like that.  There’s a lot of planning and... and…”  Jinyoung ran a hand through his hair and sighed.  “Knowing him, he probably found a way.”  Jinyoung admitted.

All three of them looked at the ground, trying to process this new information.  Mark had been thinking for the past few weeks since he talked with Jinyoung, trying to find a way to make all this work.  It wasn’t foolproof, but he had an idea.

“Jinyoung,” Mark turned to him and Jinyoung caught the fire in Mark’s eyes, nodding for him to continue.  “You are allowed to leave the castle as you please, correct?”

“Not exactly, I need a good reason to head completely out of castle grounds.  Trips for events or business are usually the only good reasons; I won’t be able to get out for anything else without a really good explanation.  Why?”

That wasn’t the answer Mark was hoping for, but there was still a chance.  “I mean, you’re friends with most of the servants, correct?  We need escorts to go out but if we get people we trust, leave the castle together; maybe we could just… leave?”  Jinyoung and Sooyoung both just stared at him as if he had completely lost his marbles.

“Mark, what do you mean _leave_?  We can’t just… leave?  Where do we go?”

Mark knew he wasn’t the best at coming up with solutions, but there almost was no solutions to this.  “Just… leave.  Go somewhere, anywhere, far away from here.  You said you wanted to live like a normal person for once, right?  We have royal blood but not everyone knows our faces. If we were to travel far away we could easily blend in with normal people.”

“That’s ridiculous, we’re _royals_.  Why would you ever want to stoop so low to be just a commoner? “Sooyoung interjected.

Jinyoung looked at her so intensely she had to finally face him.  “There’s nothing wrong with being a commoner.  All of our workers are commoners, the townspeople are commoners, but they’re not unhappy.  They get to live freely, we don’t.  We may have a lot of money and luxuries but none of those mean anything to me if I can’t be with the person I love.”  Jinyoung realized a second later what he had said and he instantly turned red.

Mark didn’t know what to say and Jinyoung was silent again, so it was Sooyoung who finally broke the awkwardness.  “So, you two are really serious about each other?  This is not just… a phase?”

Jinyoung still seemed annoyed that Sooyoung had to find out and she was reacting this way, but Mark truly understood her confusion and didn’t blame her for it.  “Yes, we’re serious.  I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”  Mark said it so sternly Sooyoung finally decided that was all the convincing she needed. 

“Alright, while I still think your plan is ridiculous and not going to work, I haven’t got any better ideas.  If you’re truly serious about leaving behind this life for each other’s sakes then I’m not going to oppose you.  I want this all to be over with just as much as you do.”  Sooyoung finally smiled at him as she got up.  “I’m almost glad it turned out this way in the end.  Prince Tuan, you are definitely the best man I’ve ever been set up with and you better treat my brother well.” 

Mark wanted to laugh, it seemed over protectiveness was another trait that ran is the Park family.

She bowed to him.  “I will ask Sungjae and the other servants if there is any way we could sneak you guys out of here.  For now, I’ll take my leave, sorry interrupting you.”

Mark smiled as he bowed back.  “Thank you, Princess Park.  It was an honour being engaged to you for the short time this was, and I hope you’ll be able to marry someone you actually love someday.”

After she had left Jinyoung was still avoiding Mark’s gaze.  “Jinyoung, you okay?”

“The more I think about the more I realize that leaving might not be so bad.  What am I leaving behind?  Wealth that isn’t even mine, luxuries that I don’t care about, belongings that I barely ever use, and a family that hardly cares about me…I’d choose you over all that.”  Mark smiled as he walked over and sat in Jinyoung’s lap.  “What am I going to tell Jaebum though?  ‘I’m glad we’ve been friends since birth but I’m leaving with a man I’ve known for a few months?’”

Mark didn’t think all of this through.  He didn’t mind leaving behind most of what he had, but leaving Jackson made his heart hurt.  “We can take him with us and Jackson too and…”

Jinyoung stopped him before he could say anything else.  “We can’t take everyone; I’m friends with most of the staff here.  We can’t play favourites.  It’s risky enough for just the two of us to try to leave, I don’t want to endanger anyone else,” Mark rested his head against Jinyoung’s chest and Jinyoung reached out to pat his head softly.  “Besides, Jaebum isn’t going to leave without Young- “

“Jinyoung.”  Neither of them needed to look back to know it was Jaebum.  “You need to attend your evening lessons.”

Mark wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, or if he had heard much, but it was up to Jinyoung to try to think about that.  Mark gave him a look, as he pushed Mark a bit to get him off his lap so he could get up.  “You don’t need to go, there’s no reason if…”

Jinyoung smiled and nodded in disagreement.  “I know it’s pointless, but I can’t make anyone suspicious.”  He whispered.  “Can you meet me after dinner, in the back gardens?”

Mark nodded and Jinyoung ran off to leave with Jaebum. 

Mark was scared, but there wasn’t anything that scared him more than a life without Jinyoung.

* * *

 

“It’s very… quiet.”  Mark observed.  The castle was always buzzing with hundreds of servants and guards that worked there, so this was a bit of a shock.

“Nobody works in the gardens at night, and the guards only guard the front of the castle.”  Jinyoung explained, a single lantern providing some light in the darkness.

“No guards are assigned back here?  That seems strange.”

“The estate is entirely fenced in and there is nothing beyond here, just trees.  There’s no chance anyone’s going to try to come through here.”  Jinyoung clarified.

“Why did you want to meet here again?”  Mark had hardly been out to the back gardens since he first met Coco.

“Do you remember what I said last time we were here, about the climbing vines all over the fence?” Jinyoung held the lantern in one hand and he held Mark’s hand with the other.

It had been a while since they had that conversation, but Mark suddenly remembered.  “You said they were going to bloom flowers in late spring?”

Jinyoung smiled in response as he pulled him along by the hand until they reached the end of the property.  Jinyoung held his lantern up, illuminating the fence.  “I would’ve shown you this in the morning, but I’ve realized that seeing it at night is something you don’t want to miss out on.”

Mark was mesmerized.  The entire fence was covered in bright blue flowers.  As soon as the lantern light hit them they looked as if they were almost glowing underneath the night sky.  It was truly a spectacular sight.

“Well, what do you think?  Was it worth the wait?”  Jinyoung asked as he set down the lantern next to them and leaned into Mark.

“It’s… beautiful.”The scene was much more than beautiful in Mark’s eyes but he couldn’t come up with the right words to describe it perfectly.

“I’m glad we’re still here to see this,” Jinyoung tugged Mark’s hand and pulled him away from the fence.  “It’s been so long since we’ve met.”

“It’s only been a couple of months, Jinyoungie.” 

“Really?  I feel like I’ve known you for years.” 

“I guess when you’re in love days feel like months and months feel like years.”    Mark said with no hesitation in his voice.

Jinyoung’s face wasn’t completely lit up due to the dim lighting but Mark knew he was turning red again.  “Love?”

“You said you loved me earlier, right?  I was just returning the favour.”  Mark smiled brightly; Jinyoung was always adorable when he was flustered.

“I said that by accident.”

“Oh?  So you didn’t mean it?”  Mark pouted and Jinyoung immediately regretted speaking.

“No!  Not at all! I…”  Mark leaned in towards Jinyoung, tilting his ear towards his mouth so that he could hear clearly.

“What was that?  I couldn’t hear you.”  Mark teased and Jinyoung just giggled and reached out to turn Mark’s face towards him so that he was staring directly into his eyes.

“I love you, Mark Tuan.”  Mark didn’t waste any time closing the gap between their lips and kissing him deeply in response.

When they finally parted for air Mark stared at him and whispered: “I love you too.”

Jinyoung smiled and pulled himself out of Mark’s grip to stand before him and bow, holding his hand out.  “Prince Tuan.” 

“What are you doing?”

“We’re reminiscing the time we’ve known each other, right?  I felt this was only fitting.”  He wiggled his hand a bit, waiting for Mark to take it.

“There’s no music, though.”

“We don’t need music, just, please?” 

Mark sighed happily as he took Jinyoung’s hand and bowed to him.  “Prince Park.”

Jinyoung seemed elated and that was enough to keep Mark going as he twirled him around the gardens, their legs moving in a circle pattern that was common of partner dances. 

It was different from the first time, their hands fell together so naturally and their bodies hugged each other when they came together.  When they came to the steps where they were supposed to switch partners they both let go and immediately latched back onto each other and laughed about it because the entire situation was really quite silly but they were both too giggly and content to even care.  Soon the dancing turned into them just hugging each other close and randomly moving their feet and they both decided they should better stop before Mark died of laughter.

“That was ridiculous.”  Mark said, still trying to calm down.

“It was supposed to be sweet and memorable; you ruined it by not following the steps.”

“I can’t follow the steps properly without _music_.”  They both laughed some more until they were finally over the situation.

“Wait!  There’s still one more thing I wanted to do.”  Jinyoung grabbed Mark’s hand and picked up the lantern from the ground.  He pulled him towards another corner of the gardens and held up the lantern triumphantly when he finally reached his destination.  “Ta-da!”

Mark wasn’t sure what he was looking at.  It seemed like fabric draped hurriedly over some sort of stand.  Mark decided to smile since Jinyoung looked so proud of it, but he realized he couldn’t fake it anymore when Jinyoung waited patiently for a response.  “Oh!  Wow!  It’s… what is it?”

Jinyoung didn’t seem too upset he didn’t know what it was, he was eager to explain.  “I read a book recently about a man who got stranded on an island and he made something called a ‘tent’.  You sleep in it.  I tried to make one too since it’s late now and the guards are going to be inside the house we can just sleep outside!”  Jinyoung seemed excited and Mark didn’t quite get the appeal.

“Anything for you Jinyoung, as long as you’re sure we won’t get caught.” 

“We won’t, as long as we wake up before it’s completely bright outside and head back in… I wake up early naturally anyways we should be fine.”  It wasn’t like Jinyoung to be into taking risks like this.  He must’ve been _really_ proud of his tent.

Mark shrugged and leaned down to crawl inside.  Space was rather limited and the entire thing seemed rather flimsy.  “Are you sure we can both fit in here?”

“We should be able to!  I…” Jinyoung tried to make his way inside and started bumping limbs with Mark.  “Ow, wait, move more to the right.”

Mark rolled over more and Jinyoung tried to lay his body down sideways but he was still struggling to find enough room.  “Jinyoung, move just-- hey watch your arm!”

“Sorry!”  Jinyoung tried to roll over and push himself to the left but he didn’t realize doing that would cause the entire sheet to roll, pulled it off the makeshift rods, completely dismantling the tent.  “No!”

Mark crawled out from the mess of sheets and rods piled on the floor and tried to unravel Jinyoung from the mess he made.  Mark was trying hard not to laugh because Jinyoung was obviously distraught, but he let a snicker slip as he freed Jinyoung.

“It’s not funny!  I had a plan, and that plan is ruined… it was supposed to be romantic.”  Mark finally freed Jinyoung completely and he stood up to estimate the damages.  “I don’t think I have time to fix this tonight.”

“Relax Jinyoungie, it doesn’t matter.  We can just sneak back inside; I can still sleep with you if you really want.”  Mark smiled at him and Jinyoung couldn’t stay mad for long.

So they left the mess of tent back there and headed back to the castle, dodging the night guards and making their way back to Jinyoung’s room, where Mark tackled him on the bed, holding him closely and breathing in his scent. 

“See, isn’t this much comfier than the weird tent thing you made?” 

“I guess, although with better execution the tent _could’ve_ worked out.”  Jinyoung tried to convince but Mark wasn’t having any of it and decided to silence Jinyoung with his lips before he could try and come up with any more excuses.

Somewhere in the middle of kissing Jinyoung fell asleep.  Mark grinned when he realized the situation and tucked Jinyoung’s body in his arms so he could join him in a deep slumber.

* * *

 

Mark wasn’t sure what time it was when he was shaken awake.  One look outside told him that it was still dark out.

“You two!  Wake up!  Wake up now!”  Sooyoung shouted in a whisper.

 Mark was the first one to jolt up.  “Sooyoung?  What’s the matter?”

Jinyoung rubbed his eyes as he tried to sit up, finally roused by the commotion.

“It’s my brother; my father is planning to have him leave!”

This finally caught Jinyoung’s attention.  “What me?  Leaving?”

“Father is sending you off to the western kingdom to meet your wife.”

“He didn’t mention that to me, when am I leaving?”  Jinyoung looked like he had lived through three wars and Mark’s heart was beating straight through his chest.

“He’s planning to have you leave first thing in the morning.”

Mark felt his stomach drop. “No, that’s too soon!”

“I won’t go!  He can’t make me…”

Sooyoung looked tense.  “I’m sorry, I don’t know the details but I’m pretty sure if you don’t agree he’s going to find a way to force you…I mean… you know how father can be.”

Jinyoung and Sooyoung both looked unsettled and Mark knew he hadn’t seen all the things King Park was capable of.  “Then there’s no way we’re getting out of this?”

“It’s too late.  There’s nothing you can do.”  Sooyoung looked guilty there wasn’t anything she could do beyond giving them information, but Mark knew they had to find a way out of this.

“Do either one of you know when the servants and guards report for duty in the morning?”  Mark asked.

“Around five in the morning, less than an hour from now, why?”  Sooyoung answered.

Mark took Jinyoung’s hand and turned to look at him, the fire in his eyes evident.

“We’re leaving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you may be wondering, where have you been for the past two weeks despite saying you were going to update this more frequently?? WELL I've actually got a pretty good explanation. So all of last week I was so anxious i felt like I was going to vomit on a daily basis, so basically I was a mess. Then on Sunday, the reason for my anxiety, I WENT TO GO SEE GOT7 LIVE AND LET ME TELL YOU... IT WAS LIFE CHANGING... honestly. I was sitting so close to the front, I could've reached out and touched them (the girl sitting beside me actually did get to hold hands with jackson... i swear i'm not bitter) and omg I had SO much fun!! And during the talk markjin was sitting right in front of me AND JINYOUNG REACHED OUT TO RUB MARK'S THIGH AND HOLD HIS HAND AND I ACTUALLY ALMOST PASSED OUT RIGHT THERE AND THEN IT WAS JUST TOO REAL. Anyways! I'm not going to relay my whole experience here, but, if you guys ever have the chance to see got7 live please go!! They're flawless and amazing!! So, then we get to after the concert, post concert depression is very real guys. I cried for at least three days on and off due to the trauma of not being in front of got7 anymore... I couldn't eat or sleep or anything... it was so bad. I'm only just now starting to feel better but wow! The last two weeks have been a roller coaster ride but I think I'm finally somewhat over it? I'll never be truly over it tbh but I've finally re-adapted back to a normal life, and so I'll be updating this regularly again! 
> 
> Thank you all so much again for all your kudos and comments and sticking with me, and I hope you have/had a fantastic day!


	10. Chapter 10

“You guys are insane,” Sooyoung spoke up from beside them, “There are guards everywhere, if they catch you, you know what’s going to happen.”  She tried to dissuade them from leaving.

“We need to leave now, we can’t use the front entrance but if we go out the back nobody is going to know.  The guards aren’t out there yet.” Mark said as he scrambled through Jinyoung’s belongings looking for a satchel.

“The back?  We don’t have a back entrance.”  Jinyoung said.

“Technically, you don’t, but, we have no choice.  We can just… climb the fence and get out through there.” Mark said and Jinyoung grabbed his arm to stop him and have him look at him while talking.

“Mark, even if we do that and manage to loop back around to the front the guards are still going to be waiting for us.”  Jinyoung said sternly.

“Who said we would go to the front?  We just have to go backward, they won’t find us then.”

Both of the Park siblings were not staring at him as if he’d lost his marbles.  “Go backward?  Mark, I told you, there’s nothing back there but trees and forest and…”  Jinyoung looked worried.

“That can’t be true… if we go far enough there has to be _something_.   The northern kingdom stretches out very far, I can’t believe that the forest doesn’t have an end.” Mark spoke confidently.

Jinyoung released his arm and sat back down on his bed. “How are we even going to make it that far?  Can we make it that far?  This is so…” 

“Scary?  Stupid?  Impossible?  Maybe, but if we stay here I’m not going to see you again, and I’d rather take this risk than ever let that happen.” 

Jinyoung closed his eyes and took a moment to breathe deeply and think before he opened them again.  “Alright.”

* * *

 

“Are you crying?”  Jinyoung asked, worried about Jackson standing in front of them

“I, no!  I’m just…”  Jackson looked like he had given up on denying it.  “Mark… is _this_ end then?  All these years together, partners in crime, are we finally splitting up?”  Jackson tried to smile but the water welling up in his eyes gave away that he knew he was being serious this time around, despite him asking for further confirmation.

“Jackson… I’m sorry.  I know this is hard, it’s hard for me too.”  Mark’s voice cracked before he had even realized it.

“Don’t apologize; it’s for a good cause.”  Jackson glanced over at Jinyoung and grinned through the tears openly falling down his face.  “I knew from the moment Mark told me he liked you this would happen, really.  The feelings you have for each other are stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced.  I just didn’t think it would be this… dramatic?”  He wiped away the tears on his face but they just kept falling.  “Argh, what’s wrong with me? I should be happy.”

Mark felt his resolve disappear when he saw Jackson crying, rushing to pull him into his arms for a deep hug, his own tears staining the back of Jackson’s shirt.  They were always very tender people deep down.  There was no shame in a moment like this.  “This isn’t the end, okay? “  Mark finally pulled away.  “We’re definitely going to meet again, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter how long it takes, you’re always the greatest friend I’ve ever had.”

“Wow, Markie-pooh… I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in the past six years,  why did it take us finally splitting up to get a decent compliment out of you?!”  Mark smacked him across the shoulder and Jackson finally let out his signature hyena laugh through the tears.  “That’s the Mark I know!”

“You idiot, I’m going to miss you.”  Mark said, giving Jackson one more quick hug before looking over at Jinyoung.

He knew he had spoken about what they were planning with Jaebum earlier, but it was a little strange to see them show no remorse openly; simply talking about how they were going to make all of this happen while Jinyoung shoved the last bit of food he was speed eating down his throat.

“I think Mark is right, there’s definitely something beyond there, but I really can’t say how long it would take to reach there.  I’m not sure if it’s even possible on foot.”  Jaebum slung a heavy satchel around Jinyoung’s neck.  “There are supplies in here, but it’s not going to last longer than a week, and since you need to travel lightly I can’t give you anything else.  I hope you know how dangerous this is, none of us know what kinds of things lurk far beyond the fence.  I can’t give you much useful advice.”

“Are you really that worried about me, Jaebum?”  Jinyoung tried to poke fun but Jaebum didn’t even flinch.

“Of course, I’m worried.”  He said seriously.

Mark never understood their relationship that well.  He knew from Jinyoung they had known each other practically their entire lives yet they weren’t as openly affectionate like he was with Jackson. He knew there was so much of their relationship that ran deep beneath the surface he could never begin to comprehend it.

“What, think I won’t be able to handle being without you?  I’m not a child anymore.”

Jaebum bit his lip nervously, like he was trying to find the right words to say.  “No, It’s just going to be… weird… without you.”

Jinyoung looked like he caught what he was trying to say.  “It’s going to be weird without you as well, we were basically attached at the hip for so long, but I think we both have things we need to move on from in order the pursue what we really want in life. Isn’t that right?”

“You were always so refined in the way you talk, like you were quoting a book with every sentence.  I’ve always hated it, but, of course, you’re right.  I’m going to miss you, but I know you’re in good hands.”

Jinyoung’s eyes crinkled up as he smiled genuinely at him, holding out a fist.  “The feeling is mutual.”

Jaebum grinned back, bumping his fist with Jinyoung’s, and then pulling him into a quick hug.

“Where’s Youngjae?”  Mark belatedly asked.

“I didn’t wake him up; I’ll tell him everything later.  I know he’s not going to take it well, so I didn’t want him to become a burden for you.”  Jaebum explained.  “I’ll make sure he’s alright,” Jaebum smiled gently at his own words and Jinyoung exchanged a knowing glance with Mark.   “You guys should get going, there can’t be much time before the guards report for duty.”

“Wait!  J-Jinyoung…”  Sooyoung yelled, immediately becoming shy when he turned to look at her.  “I just wanted to apologize.  I know I haven’t been the best sister for a long time now but I need you to know that I never stopped caring.  I’ll never forget all the things you did for me, and I’m always thankful for how protective you are of me, even though I don’t act like it.  Thank you truly, for everything.”  She bowed at a full ninety degrees to show her gratitude and Jinyoung ran over to her, pulling her up and fitting her in his arms.

“I’m sorry I didn’t respect your decisions, I’m sorry I thought you needed to be protected forever.  We were both wrong but it’s all forgiven.  At the end of the day, you’re my sister, and I’ll always love you.”  Jinyoung held her closer and Sooyoung sniffled into his shirt.

“I love you too.”  She whispered, muffled by the fabric but still audible.

Jaebum cut in, signaling that they had to go now so Jinyoung pulled away and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before turning to Sungjae standing in the back.  “You better take good care of her.  You hurt her and I will _find you._   Understand?”

Sungjae nodded and bowed obediently, unable to respond with words.

“Good,” Jinyoung turned around and grabbed Mark’s hand.  “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Jaebum left first, making sure there were no stray servants or guards hanging around the hallways, telling them when they had a clear path.  They snuck through the corridors like the night before, except this time the situation was far more dangerous.

Thankfully, they made it out to the garden with ease and the guards were not on duty yet. 

“I can’t believe this thing might actually come in handy.”  Mark picked the bundle of fabric and sticks Jinyoung left on the ground the night before.  “I just hope you’ll be able to actually put it together this time.”

“Two minds are better than one, how complicated could a tent be?” 

“Too complicated for you, apparently.”

Jinyoung side-eyed him.  “Enough talking, we need to leave.”

As they walked quickly towards the edge of the property they were startled by sudden rustling behind them.  They didn’t even get a chance to turn around fully before they heard Jaebum yelling.

“Run!”

Guards.  There were at least five, angered looks on their faces.

“Prince Park!  Prince Tuan!  What are you doing?!”  One yelled.

Mark immediately took Jinyoung’s hand and started sprinting, pulling him along.  There was no time to think, they just had to go.

Jinyoung stumbled a bit trying to keep up with his pace, and as soon as they reached the fence Mark latched on, climbing it with grace and speed, trying to ignore the sound of Jinyoung’s favourite flowers crushing underneath his feet as he climbed higher. 

He reached the top with relative ease, despite carrying a pile of stuff in one arm; as soon as he got to the top he dumped the supplies over and swung himself over to the other side.  He stopped abruptly when he realized Jinyoung wasn’t beside him. 

He was much lower on the fence, climbing at a steady pace but more slowly than Mark.  He knew they were both fit but he had overestimated Jinyoung’s ability to climb.  “You need to go faster, they’re—“The guards were reaching the fence and Jinyoung was panicking.  He every step up he took he lost his balance, or slipped on flowers.  Mark’s heart was beating a mile a minute.

Mark tossed his body back over the fence and climbed down a bit to take Jinyoung’s arm and pull him up, but suddenly he was yanked down and Mark was barely able to keep him from falling right off.

“Mark, they- ah!”  Mark looked down the see one of the guards trying to climb up the fence as well, one arm grabbed at Jinyoung’s bag, trying to make him fall.  “Mark!  I can’t hold on!”  He tried to flail his leg around but he couldn’t do it properly without losing his grip.

Mark’s grip on Jinyoung was slipping, if he didn’t let go he was going to be overpowered.  He couldn’t let that happen.    “Jinyoung, when I say _now_ kick down with your leg, okay?”

“Yes!”  Jinyoung yelled desperately trying to hold on.

“Let go!  Come down!”  Guards were yelling and more were trying to climb up so Mark acted as quickly as he could.  In one fluid motion, he pulled the bag strap around and off Jinyoung, causing the guard to lose his grip on Jinyoung, the bag hanging limply in his hand.

“Now!”  Jinyoung kicked down, straight where the guard’s face was.  Now that he was no longer holding on properly to Jinyoung, he lost his grip and went flying down off the fence.  Mark didn’t even look down, he just grabbed Jinyoung and practically pushed him up the fence, so he climbed faster and reached the top.  “Just jump down!”

Jinyoung obeyed, jumping down and landing on his feet, and Mark climbed up and followed suit.  The bottoms of his feet hurt as he landed hard, but he tried to ignore the pain as he scrambled to pick up the remnants of the tent and bolted into the trees behind Jinyoung.

They could still hear the guards yelling, neither of them dared to look back.  They just kept running as fast as they could straight back, dodging low hanging branches and overgrown roots.  The tree cover was thick, there was barely any ground to walk properly on, but they kept running.  They kept running until the guards’ voices became faint.  They kept running until they couldn’t hear anything anymore.  They kept running even more after that, just to be sure.  Until finally, neither of them could handle it anymore and they stopped, passing out and falling to the ground, heavily panting and covered in sweat.

“I don’t think…. They’re… following us… anymore.”  Mark said in deep breaths and he rested against a tree trunk.

Jinyoung was just crouched down next to a tree, face in his hands.

“J-Jinyoung?”  He got up on his knees and crawled over to him.  “Are you okay?”  He put a hand on his shoulder.  He was shaking.  “Jinyoung?”

Strangled sobs escaped from his throat.  Soon the tears leaked out from between his fingertips and he couldn’t hold it back any longer.

That was the first time he had ever seen Jinyoung bawl.

* * *

 

They weren’t sure how long they had walked before the tree cover started to thin and they found a clearing.  They still couldn’t see an end in sight, but it was a good sign.

They weren’t certain when it started to rain, but they both continued through it in comfortable silence for most of the walk.  Jinyoung had cried for a while with Mark patting him on the back.  He said he was finished but he still looked out of it, and the rain helped to mask any tears that were still falling.

Hours had passed by, with them just walking.  The rain just wouldn’t let up, drenching them both and chilling them to the core.

The situation was grim.  Jinyoung had lost his bag in the struggled leaving them with nothing but a tent.  Unless they found something to sustain themselves their bodies were going to give out quickly. 

The rain finally stopped and they took advantage of the moment.  They dried the fabric as best they could and assembled the tent so it wouldn’t collapse.  Jinyoung gave out directions and Mark put it together and they managed to get something up and standing.

The sun dipped lower in the sky, the light had almost faded when they finished setting up.

“It’s just as cramped as before, but I think it’s going to stay up this time,” Mark pulled back the fabric and nestled himself inside.  “Unless it starts raining again, then we might have a problem.”

“Please!  Sky!  No more rain!”  Jinyoung dramatically called out to the sky with his arms up in the air and Mark laughed uncontrollably.

“Good to see you’re feeling better.” 

“I think the lack of food and water is making me delirious.” Jinyoung stated, causing Mark to laugh again.  Maybe he was a bit delirious as well.

They needed supplies but they were both much too tired and wet to even think about it that night, both of them agreeing that they would survive until morning under the current circumstances.

Jinyoung crawled into the tent next to Mark, when the flap closed it was pitch black and they both struggled to find somewhere comfortable to lie.  The hard ground wasn’t the best spot to get a good night’s rest, but they were both tired enough that they were sure they could sleep anywhere.

Their arms were pressed against each other and Mark was a bit flustered and their close proximity, even though he had slept in Jinyoung’s bed on many occasions.  The whole situation felt a little different. There was some sort of tension hanging over them.  He didn’t dare move, as he couldn’t see exactly where Jinyoung was.  He knew he was cold and wet and he didn’t want to touch him unnecessarily.

“Ah-choo!”  Jinyoung suddenly sneezed and Mark flinched.

“Are you okay?”  Mark tried to tilt his head to look over at him but then he realized he couldn’t see anything anyways.

“I’m fine... it was just a singular sneeze.”

“Hm, doesn’t that mean someone’s talking about you?”

Jinyoung let out a throaty chuckle.  “Mark, I’m pretty sure at this point a lot of people are talking about us.”

“I guess you’re right.”  Mark said simply.  Silence falling over them.

After a few moments, Jinyoung spoke.  “I love you.”

Mark smiled to himself in the darkness.  “I love you too.  Don’t worry; everything is going to be fine.”

“I know. It’s not like there’s any turning back now.  We’ll figure out something.  I believe in you.”

“I believe in us.”

Jinyoung didn’t answer but Mark could tell he was grinning.  He reached out a hand as he felt around for Mark’s face; as soon as he felt it he leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Good night Mark.” 

 “Good night Jinyoung.”

* * *

 

**A/N:  From this point onwards there will be smut-related content. There is no significant plot progression, so if you do not wish to read it you can skip to the next chapter.**

* * *

 

Mark excelled at sleeping.  He could take a nap whenever and wherever he wanted, so it wasn’t a surprise that he was able to fall asleep rather easily, even in such an uncomfortable situation.

He had lost track of time, but he was still a bit groggy when he was nudged awake.

“Mark, are you a-awake?  M-mark?”  As soon as he realized it was Jinyoung who was calling him his eyes opened slowly.

“Jinyoungie?”  Mark rubbed his eyes and sat up a bit.  “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to die.”

That was enough to shock Mark wide awake.  “What?!”

“I’m going to die.  I’m going to f-freeze to death.  Why is it so cold?” Mark felt around until his hand landed on what he assumed was Jinyoung’s chest.

“You’re still soaking wet,” Mark had gotten drenched in the rain as well but his clothes had dried enough that they were only a bit damp.  “Why did you wear such thick clothes?  It’s not going to dry if you keep wearing it.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think this through… I j-just... I’m so c-cold.”

“Relax, just get rid of all the wet clothes and put them outside to dry.  You’re just going continue to freeze if you keep them on.” 

“No, then I’m just going to be c-colder…”  Jinyoung tried to argue.

“Don’t worry; I can’t see anything anyways if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I was genuinely worried I was going to be c-cold without clothes, but t-thanks for the reminder.” 

Mark felt his cheeks flush at how blatantly he told Jinyoung to take off his clothes, he wasn’t thinking about anything inappropriate when he said it.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I d-don’t care.  Too c-cold to think.”  Mark heard erratic rustling next to him and then the tent flap opened a bit, causing cool air to rush in before it closed and he felt Jinyoung lie down next to him.  “That didn’t h-help, I think I’m even colder.”

“Wait,” Mark cleared his mind a bit before he acted, trying to convince himself he was only doing this to for Jinyoung’s sake, no other reason.  Clean, pure, innocent thoughts.  He reached a hand over carefully, lowering it down and making contact with what he assumed was Jinyoung’s chest. “Don’t freak out, trust me-“

“Oh, you’re warm.”  Jinyoung started as he grabbed Mark’s hand and yanked his body over shamelessly, putting his arm around his torso and pulling him close until his chest was pressed up against Jinyoung’s back.  Then he suddenly pushed him back off him.  “Your clothes are still wet.”

“Oh, sorry-“

“Take them off.”

“W-what?”  Mark was flustered but Jinyoung seemed to have a game plan at this point.

“Take off your clothes; it’s the only way to keep warm.”  Jinyoung nudged back to give him a bit more room.  “Don’t worry, I can’t see anything.” He repeated his words from earlier in a teasing tone.

Mark didn’t know why he was so embarrassed.  Jinyoung was right; it was just a survival thing.  So he obliged, pulling his shirt and pants off and tossing them somewhere outside the tent to dry.    “Okay.’  He went to wrap his arms back around him and Jinyoung comfortable scooted back into his chest, their bare skin touching, generating warmth between them.

“That’s a hundred times better.” Jinyoung sighed, his ice cold skin finally heating up from Mark’s touch.  Jinyoung moved even further, pressing himself entirely up against Mark’s body in an attempt to absorb all the warmth he could.  Mark instinctively jumped backward, startled by the way his body felt against his.  “Huh, Mark, are you okay?”

“F-fine.  Sorry.”  Mark cursed at the way his voice stuttered.    He kept repeating a mantra in his mind.  Pure, innocent, thoughts.  _Pure, innocent, thoughts._

Jinyoung shifted in his arms, turning himself around and snaking his arms around him.  “Are you cold?”

“No, I’m good.”  He was the opposite of cold.  He was burning up, overheating, crumbling under the heat that Jinyoung stirred within him.

Jinyoung pulled him closer until he felt their noses knock together clumsily.  Jinyoung laughed and Mark felt a bit more at ease.  Jinyoung turned his head to the side and pressed his lips against Mark’s, softly at first, when there was no resistance on his part Jinyoung kissed more eagerly, not wasting any time sliding his tongue past Mark’s lips and tasting him carefully.

They had kissed many times before, but this time, it was different. 

The way Jinyoung’s hand ran up and down Mark’s back sent electricity through his veins, and made him to sigh against Jinyoung’s lips.  Jinyoung eventually got tired of his lips, kissing down his neck as Mark let his hand rest on the back of his head.  He deliberately sucked marks into his neck, leaving Mark's skin tingling and his heart racing.

Jinyoung’s knee danced carefully along his thigh, drawing lines up and down over and over until it finally settled between his legs and rubbed against his crotch and Mark decided to throw any semblance of _pure, innocent thoughts_ out the window.

Mark was the one who broke first pushing Jinyoung down and climbing on top of him, leaning down to find his lips before he had a chance to say anything.

He kissed him hard as he ground down his hips against his; he felt the tension grow as Jinyoung moaned flagrantly against his lips and suddenly pushed his face away.  Both of them were a bit breathless but Mark spoke first.  “Sorry, are you okay?  I-I got a little carried away, I can get down.”

“No!”  Jinyoung shouted a bit too enthusiastically. “I mean… you can, I… don’t tease me.” 

Mark thought he couldn’t be any more turned on.  He was wrong.  “What was that…?”

Jinyoung traced a finger down Mark’s chest, slowly and carefully, until he reached waistband of Mark’s underwear.  “Can I?”

Mark hesitated for a second, asking himself if he should be doing this.  After he realized there was not a single reason not to continue if they both wanted this, he said "Yes."

His hand tugged Mark’s underwear down as far as he could then his hand found Mark’s length, stroking it gingerly.  Mark felt his breath hitch and his throat close up when Jinyoung decided to stroke him more deliberately, slicking his hands with the precum dripping from his tip and using it to slide his hand down to the base and back up.

Mark’s hips moved on their own, matching the strokes as he felt himself slowly losing control.  “Jinyoung,” He held his wrist.  “Stop for a second.”

“What’s wrong?”  Jinyoung sounded genuinely concerned he did something wrong.

“It’s nothing, I just need you to stop… or else I’m not going to last that long.”

Jinyoung gave him an ‘ _ah’_ and Mark started rubbing his hand over the bulge in Jinyoung’s underwear; Jinyoung curled up underneath him and groaned purposefully.

“Lift up your h-hips.”  Mark instructed, still nervous.  Jinyoung obeyed and he pulled his underwear down, tossing it somewhere he couldn’t see.

He ran his hand up Jinyoung’s leg until he reached the point where they joined and took him between his hands, trying to replicate what Jinyoung had done that had made him feel so good.  Soft mewls and groans escaping Jinyoung’s throat encouraged him and made his mind go hazy.  He felt himself getting lost in the moment, living off the noises Jinyoung was making and trying to hold his hips down after they eagerly wanted to buck forward.

Jinyoung reached his hands down and pulled him up and into a searing kiss.  Mark leaned into him and rutted their hips together, causing sweet friction between them and Jinyoung having to stop the kiss to let out a groan.  “Mark…”  Jinyoung spoke but he was panting more than he thought so it took a second to get his words out.  “Do that again.”

Mark made sure their bodies were perfectly aligned, face to face, chest to chest, and hip to hip, before he ground their cocks together.  Jinyoung desperately wrapped his arms around Mark’s back; trying to pull him closer, despite the fact there was no more room in between their sweat slicked bodies.

Their kisses were sloppy as they snapped their hips together again and again at a steady pace.

Mark wished he could see Jinyoung’s face.  He could only imagine what he looked like underneath him; letting out louder and louder noises as they both got closer to the edge.  He realized then why this moment was perfect.   There was nobody there that might come in and catch them.  There was nobody there that might hear them if they were too loud.  There was nobody there that could tell them what they were doing was wrong. 

In Mark’s mind, that made everything worth it.

“Wait,” Mark stopped moving and Jinyoung took his arms off of him so he could sit up, taking both of their cocks into his hand and rubbing them together.  The slid smoothly against each other as Mark felt himself unraveling.  “Jinyoung, I’m…”

“Me too.”  Jinyoung was able to pant out as Mark took that as his cue to stroke them both rapidly until he felt himself shattering, stroking himself through his orgasm and groaning Jinyoung’s name. Jinyoung’s hand came up and he stroked himself a few more times, pushing himself over the edge as he moaned Mark’s name over and over until the pleasure finally died down.

Mark collapsed on top of him, spent and uncaring. They simply lied there, waiting for each other’s breaths to steady.

“Mark?” 

“Yes?”

“Are we going to be okay?”  Jinyoung asked, running a hand through Mark’s hair as they hugged.

Mark held him tighter, as if he was scared to let him go for just one second.

 “Don’t worry; we’re going to be just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! Honestly it didn't seem like such a long time because I've sat down and written and rewritten this chapter about 500 times because it kept turning out wrong! So sorry about making you guys wait! Please forgive me!! Also, this is not the last we're seeing of jackson/jaebum/youngjae, so don't worry about that! Thank for your kudos and comments, and I hope you have/had a nice day!!


	11. Chapter 11

Mark woke in the morning to the sound of his own stomach grumbling.

His head felt fuzzy and he hardly had the energy to sit up, but when he noticed that he was alone he sprung up.  The spot where Jinyoung had been next to him was now just replaced with his clothes folded neatly in a pile.

He hurriedly got dressed and walked outside to find Jinyoung nestled in a ball outside their test, trying to soak up the sunlight.

Mark tiptoed over to him and crouched down before poking him lightly on the arm.  “Jinyoungie.”  He said in a cute voice.

Jinyoung looked over at him, the tip of his nose red and his eyes swollen.  “Mark… why is it so cold- ah-choo!”   Jinyoung sneezed, then he fell into a coughing fit and Mark took him into his arms and held him.

“Jinyoung, are you okay?  It’s not cold, the sun is out now.”

Jinyoung sniffed loudly and leaned into Mark’s touch.  “I’m fine, honestly.  I think I’m just a little sick.”

Mark put a hand against Jinyoung’s forehead and sure enough, he was burning up.  “Jinyoung, I thought you said that you weren’t sneezing because you were sick.”

“I wasn’t sick!  I just woke up like this I swear- ah-choo!”  Jinyoung whole body shook when he coughed and sneezed as he buried his face into Mark’s chest.  “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s my fault, I should’ve noticed, we shouldn’t have walked so far-“

“Mark, it’s nobody’s fault.  Just calm down.”

“How can I stay calm when you’re like this?  I’m worried.”  Too many thoughts were running through Mark’s brain for him to even grasp all of them.  Jinyoung was sick, they didn’t have any supplies, and they were stuck out with no sense of survival.  “We need to find food or water.  I don’t know where, but don’t worry Jinyoung, I’ll-“

Jinyoung ran a reassuring hand down Mark’s shoulder and pointed ahead.  “I was looking around a bit this morning, the trees start clearing more rapidly the further North we go.  I’m very certain there has to be civilization not too far from here, instead of risking our bad survival instincts out here, I think if we muster up whatever energy we have left we should be able to reach some place safe.”

“We still can’t be sure how far that is.  Even if it’ll only take a few more hours, can you walk in that condition?”

“As long as you’re with me I’ll persevere.  We made this decision together; I’m not giving up without you.”  Jinyoung stood up trying to showcase he was okay, but he immediately stumbled, causing Mark to reach out and steady him.

“Jinyoung, please…”  Mark stared at him with unease but Jinyoung brushed him off.

“I said don’t worry, we’re walking!  No –“Jinyoung fell into another coughing fit and Mark patted him on the back.  “No worries!”

Mark was highly against the idea but at this point, it was their best chance at survival.  He folded up their tent and shoved it into his arms, and he let Jinyoung lean on him as they walked.

* * *

 

One hour later Mark realized they made a mistake.

Despite trying to stay positive, Jinyoung could not walk anymore.   He stumbled so much he fell over, his breathing laboured and his temperature was skyrocketing.  “Mark, I’m sorry… I don’t know why… I can’t move.”

“No, shh.  Don’t worry, you shouldn’t have pushed yourself.”    Mark was trying to keep calm to not make the situation worse and cause them both to panic.  “We’re going to be fine, alright?”  Mark turned around then leaned down, dropping the tent to the ground.  He hoped they wouldn’t need that anymore.  “Can you get on my back?”

Jinyoung weakly put his arms around his neck and Mark was able to hoist him up, only to stumble sideways and almost fall over as he did.  “Mark… don’t push yourself.”

“No!  I’m fine!  We’re going to make it, I can handle this.”  He tried to ignore how weak his legs felt with the extra weight and how his vision was blurrier than before.  “Everything is good.”

* * *

 

Jinyoung had completely passed out on his back at some point.  The only thing that kept him going was the sound of his breathing and the will to make sure they were both okay.

The trees thinned more and more but it still felt that there was no end in sight in comparison to how long they had walked.  Mark had completely lost track of time.  His eyes were red and swollen and his head was pounding, his body covered in a cold sweat.

He stumbled and fell to his knees, his body finally giving up.  He decided maybe he should take a rest.  He lightly shuffled Jinyoung off his back and lied him down beside him, before he collapsed right next to him.  He held his hand tightly, rubbing his thumb around to make sure he could still feel his pulse out of habit.

As soon as he hit the ground he realized he wasn’t going to be getting up.  His body was completely gone.  He was running a high fever like Jinyoung and there was no more energy between the both of them.

They were stupid.  They should’ve known from the beginning that this wasn’t going to work out.  They were driven by the desire to escape and now here they were, completely hopeless.  If they had stayed would it have been better?  He kept telling himself no, but if they had stayed at least Jinyoung would’ve been safe.

This was his silly idea, his ridiculous plan.  It was his fault they failed.  It was his fault Jinyoung was lying lifeless next to him, struggling to breathe.  It was his fault that he would probably pass out soon as well, his own eyes refusing to stay open.

Everyone was rooting for them and they had failed.

There was no use in trying to hold on anymore.

* * *

 

Mark was sure he was dreaming when he heard voices.  He couldn’t open his eyes to see, but they sounded so real.  Was he dreaming?

“Oh my _god_.  Are they dead?  Did we just stumble on some awful _murder_ scene or something?  I’m going to be sick.”

“They’re not dead, you idiot.  They’re breathing, but they’re in horrible condition.”

“Oh no!  _Oh no_!  Are they going to die?  Do we have time?  Can we save them?!  I don’t want to be responsible for someone’s death!  Bam, we can’t just leave them here!”

“I think we can still save them, we just need to hurry.”

“Hey!  Can you hear me?  Are you awake?!”

That was the last thing Mark heard before he blacked out.

* * *

 

Mark awoke in warmth, swaddled in a blanket lying on a comfortable chair.  It took him a moment for him to remember what had happened, then it all came back to him in a rush and he sat up abruptly.  “Jinyoung?  Jinyoung?!  Are you here?  Jinyoung!!” 

“Hey, shhh, relax.  I’m assuming you’re talking about him?”  A man with bright red hair gestured across from him, where Jinyoung was lying peacefully, a cloth on his forehead.  “His fever hasn’t broken yet, but I think he’s going to be fine.”

Mark crawled over to him and stared at his face.  He was struggling to breathe.  “Jinyoung, this is all my fault… I really thought we…”  After making sure Jinyoung was still there he started questioning his surroundings.

He seemed to be in a house, it was small and cozy.  He and Jinyoung were on a couch while a man stood next to them, staring at him and trying to size him up. 

“Oh!  Did one of them wake up?”  A blonde man entered the room with a fresh cloth.  He replaced the one on Jinyoung’s forehead and then stared straight at Mark.  “You should still be lying down; your body is in horrible condition.”  He nudged him away so he could lie back down on the other side of the couch.  “I’ll get you something to eat, you must be hungry right?”

Mark tried to protest but he quickly realized that he was right.  “Yes, of course, but um,” He settled back down on the couch.  “Who are you?  And where are we?”  It was obvious that they weren’t dangerous, quite the opposite, so he was able to stay calm.

The red-haired one muffled a laugh and the other sent him a look to stop.  “Sorry, you’re probably really confused.  Just trust us; we’re not going to hurt you.”  He sat down on a couch across from them.  “Yugyeom, can you go get some soup and put it in a bowl for him?  It should be finished.”

“Okay.”  The red haired one left to go shuffle around in the kitchen for a minute and then returned with two bowls of soup.  The other gave him a questioning look.  “What?  I’m kind of hungry too.  I did basically have to carry two people back to our house by _myself_.”

“Hey!  You know my stamina isn’t that great!  I said I’m sorry!”

“This guy is more of a twig than you are, and you couldn’t carry him for less than thirty minutes?  Sure, okay.  It’s not a big deal, I’m over it.”  He was obviously not over it, indicated by the way he slurped his soup passive aggressively.

The other groaned but decided to brush it off, knowing that there was no winning.  “ _Anyways_ ,” He handed the soup and spoon to Mark who eagerly dug in, only to pause and try to interpret the flavour in his mouth after the first sip.  “It might taste a bit different; there are a lot of herbs in there that we find around the forest.  Not common but completely edible, trust me.”

Mark’s mouth was full of bitterness and he was thankful his clogged nose was blocking out most of the flavour.  He sipped the free soup graciously, his tongue was crying but his stomach as grateful.

“I go by the name Bambam, and this,” He pointed to the one beside him.  “Is Yugyeom.”  He waved a bit then went back to gulping down soup.  “We were out looking for herbs when we stumbled across you guys lying there, and we couldn’t just leave you for dead.  So, we hauled you back here and now you’re not dead.  That’s basically it.”

Mark put his soup down on the table, got up, and bowed to them.  “Thank you so much, you really saved our lives.  I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it!  It’s not every day we get to save lives; we’re going to be basking in the sheer glory of this for a while, right Yugyeom?”

“I’ll be expecting payment in cash when you leave, our services are not cheap.”  Yugyeom deadpanned and Mark and Bambam stared at him, offended.  “I was joking!  Don’t look at me like that!”  Bambam hit him on the shoulder and Yugyeom just stuck his tongue out at him.

“Ignore him.  Anyways, do you have a name?”  Bambam asked.

“I’m Princ—“He caught himself before he said something he shouldn’t have.  He almost forgot he wasn’t a royal anymore.  He left that title back in the palace.  “I mean, I’m just Mark.”

“Alright, _just_ Mark!  How about the guy with you?”    Bambam giggled a bit at the way Yugyeom said his name.

Mark decided not to correct them, he was already uncomfortable enough trying to converse with strangers that seemed too comfortable teasing him already.  “This is Jinyoung.”

“What were you guys doing out in the forest?  Nobody really comes up here except for us.”  Bambam asked.

Mark knew he couldn’t divulge the real reason, but he couldn’t think of any other made up reason either.  “I… can’t say.  I’m sorry.”

“Are you from the town?”  Bambam leaned in as he talked; intent on getting as much information as he can.

“Town?  No.  I really can’t say…”  Mark knew he was sounding more and more suspicious but the words just spilled out of his mouth before he had time to think.

“Come on!  You can trust us!  Go ahead, ask us anything about us, we’ll tell you.”  Bambam said confidently.

“Alright… how old are you?”

“We’re both 19.”  Three years younger than Mark, but they were both taller than him.  Mark was suddenly glad Jinyoung wasn’t a giant; it would be harder to kiss him.

“Do you guys live here together?”

“Yes!  It’s just us; we’ve been living here together for a year now.”  Bambam threw and arm around Yugyeom but he tried to shrug it off.

“Okay, what’s your relationship?”

“Oh, Yugyeom is my boyfriend.”  At this statement, Yugyeom spat all the soup out of his mouth in shock.  “Ewwww!!  Yugyeom what the _hell_ is wrong with you?  There’s soup everywhere!”

“He didn’t mean that!  He meant friends, best friends!  We’re just friends… who are guys!  Not like boyfriends, as in dating boyfriends, because we wouldn’t do that!  Nope, never even thought about that!”  Yugyeom started rambling.

“Yugyeom calm down!  It’s fine!  He’s not going to tell anyone!”  Bambam pulled him back down and held him against the couch.

“What do you mean?  How do you know for sure?!  It’s dangerous to tell people that!”

“No, I’m sure about this,” Bambam look at Mark then pointed at Jinyoung.  “He’s your boyfriend, right?”

Mark had never referred to Jinyoung as his boyfriend before.  He kind of liked it.  A lot.  “How did you know?”  He was worried about telling them about his relationship as well, but he knew now that he had nothing to worry about.

“Well, you guys were holding hands pretty tightly for two people who had basically passed out.”  Mark had forgotten about that.  “That’s not the only reason I was so sure, I know you don’t want to tell me how you ended up in the forest, but I know there’s a good reason behind it.”

“How do you know that?”

“I ran away from home to come here, I’m originally from the western kingdom.  Here in the north, I’m undocumented, but I know my family wouldn’t accept me if I told them about my relationship.   That’s one of the reasons our house is in the forest, half an hour away from the nearest town.  I need to keep quiet about the fact that I’m here and we want to live freely without worrying about being caught.  The punishment for people like us is death, and I don’t want to risk either of us getting hurt.”

He seemed very childish from how he acted before but they way he spoke about his past made him seem much more mature.  Mark knew he was really brave to do what he did.  “I’m happy it worked out.”

“Sorry, I’ve talked too much.  You still need to rest, and I hope the other one is going to wake up soon, he really needs to get some nourishment in his body.”  Bambam flushed, probably thinking that he over shared.  “I’m guessing you guys don’t have anywhere to go?  We have an extra bedroom you guys can use, it’s no problem.”

“Thank you so much, really.  You’re too kind, and I’m sorry for intruding.  There has to be something I can give you in return… ”

Bambam and Yugyeom grabbed him and ushered him to the room.  “Just sleep!  We can figure out everything else in the morning.”

They locked the door behind him.  His mind was telling him to stay awake but his body craved more rest, so he climbed into bed and fell back asleep easily.

* * *

 

“Hey!  I think this guy’s finally waking up!”  Yugyeom popped his head into his room and Mark jumped out of bed, running outside to see if it was true.

“Jinyoung?!”  Mark leaped on the couch, careful to avoid hurting Jinyoung.

“M-Mark?” 

“Jinyoung!  It’s me!  Thank god you’re awake!”

“Is this heaven?”  Jinyoung asked, his eyes opening slowly, trying to adjust to the light.

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m dead, but this can’t be hell since you’re here with me, so the only logical conclusion is that this is heaven.” 

Mark just laughed and buried his head in the crook of Jinyoung’s neck.  “No, don’t worry.  We’re both alive.”

“Don’t lie.  It’s fine if we’re dead, really.  As long as you’re here it can’t be that bad.” 

“Stop!  We’re really alive.”  Mark hugged him tightly.  “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

Jinyoung tried to move his head but groaned as he did so.  “Okay, I’m pretty sure headaches this bad don’t exist in heaven.  I’m definitely alive, but how?”

“Don’t worry, I can explain everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, your comments and kudos and are always appreciated! I hope you have/had a fantastic day!


	12. Chapter 12

“Stop hiding, it’ll only make you stand out more.  Nobody recognizes us.”

It had been… a month?  Mark didn’t really care that much about the timeframe, he just cared about the fact that he and Jinyoung were here and out of the castle and they were happier than ever.  Jinyoung had taken a while to fully recover but eventually both of them were able to get back on track thanks to the food and shelter graciously provided by Yugyeom and Bambam.

“This is weird…”  Jinyoung let his guard down and walked casually through the town.

It was the first time Jinyoung had ventured down from the forest where they resided and into the actual town half an hour away.  It’s true that they were princes but they were only princes of small settlements of the whole kingdom, so it was unlikely for anybody to recognize them in a town this distance away from their respective kingdoms.  It was strange, walking into town and everyone looking at them like they were just another person.  It took a while to get used to, but Mark learned to love not being the center of attention.  He finally felt free.

Mark had to remind himself that even though they had made it this far, he still couldn’t be too overly affectionate in public with Jinyoung.  “It’s nice, we’re normal people now.  We can do normal things.”

“What did you say we came down here for?  Food?  As in… we have to get our own food?”

Mark laughed at Jinyoung’s naiveté, he really had no idea what life outside the castle was like. To be fair, he wasn’t an expert either but he seems to have more street smarts than Jinyoung.  “Yes, we’re getting food, unless you want to continue eating Yugyeom’s famous ‘random plants we found near our house’ soup.”

Jinyoung made a disgusted sound “No thanks, I’m done with that stuff.  I’d rather eat dirt.”

“Hey, it’s thanks to that soup you’re better now, the nutrients were no joke.  You should be thankful.”

“…no.  Still awful, I don’t understand how you guys stomach it like it’s nothing.”

“I still can’t believe how angry you got at Yugyeom the other day after he tried to feed it to you because you refused to eat it; I really thought you were going to knock him upside the head with the soup ladle.”

“Are you kidding? He had it coming!  He was mocking me!  I can’t just sit back and take that kind of slander; he was treating me like a baby.  Where is the respect for your elders these days…?”

Mark just laughed it off and continued to guide Jinyoung through the droves of people to the market while he tried to cool down after the bringing up the incident again.

They were almost there when Mark saw something out of the corner of his eye that made him stop dead in his tracks.

Jinyoung was yanked back by the sudden motion.  “Wha, why’d you stop?”

“Look.”  Mark pointed up at the building they were standing next to.  “This is what you were searching for, right?”

It wasn’t very large compared to the buildings Mark had lived in throughout his life, but it was by far one of the biggest buildings in town.  There was an aged sign sitting atop that read _Moonlight Theatre_.

“Oh, a theatre…”  Jinyoung put the pieces together in his mind.

“You said you like acting, this is where they do plays and whatnot?”

 “That would be a safe assumption but…”  Jinyoung looked at the building warily.  “There are no posters up or anything, it doesn’t seem like any shows are going on.”  That didn’t seem to deter Mark as he went right up and knocked on the front door.  “Hey, wait!  What are you doing?”

“I’m pretty sure there are people in there, it’s worth a shot.”  Jinyoung seemed doubtful but a few seconds later the door swung open to a burly man who eyed them with contempt.

“You looking for something?” He said, looking down at Mark with an intimidating look.

Mark was full of things to say before the door opened but now no words were coming out of his mouth.  “I… um... J-Jinyoung...”  He looked over in a plea for help.

The man looked at Jinyoung who was marginally less afraid than Mark.  “Oh, sorry.  We didn’t actually mean to knock—“

“You…”  The man stepped out another step and stared right at Jinyoung.  Mark saw him gulp as the man scanned him with his eyes.  “You’re… so pretty.”

“What?”  Jinyoung now just looked confused.

“Are you willing to act, we’ll pay you?  You don’t need any experience I just… you’re perfect.”  The man looked less intimidating as he was suddenly begging Jinyoung to come with him.

“I am- I mean… How do I know this is legit?”  Jinyoung took the upper hand in the conversation, realizing that he was useful to him.

“Sorry, I know this may seem weird but we’ve really been desperately looking for someone like _you._ We have the perfect play to put on but none of the actors here can play the lead role, it’s just not believable, but you… you could save us.  Please, I’ve never seen anyone in this town as beautiful as you; once the show is done we’ll make enough money to pay you graciously!  I know it!”  The man fell to his knees and grabbed Jinyoung’s hand, completely unintimidating compared to before.

Mark knew that if they had money they could start to repay whatever they owed Yugyeom and Bambam, and it was Jinyoung’s dream to be able to act, no matter how bizarre these circumstances were. They exchanged glances and Mark wasn’t surprised when he agreed and the man threw his arms around him in a bone-crushing embrace.

“Thank you!  We need to start immediately!  Soon we will be able to put on shows again!”  He dragged Jinyoung by the arm into the building and Mark followed, only to be stopped abruptly.  “Excuse me, where do you think you’re going?”

“I was going along… he’s my… friend.”  Mark said carefully, but the guy didn’t look impressed.

“Sorry, I’m only interested in him, you can leave.”  Mark was dismayed but Jinyoung looked at him comfortingly.

“I can take care of myself.  I’ll meet you back at the house later tonight, I promise I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”  Jinyoung smiled but Mark wasn’t convinced, but he could tell there was nothing he could do.  The guy had his angry persona back on and he could definitely crush Mark with one arm if he really wanted to.  The sudden change in his personality made Mark certain that this guy an actor, a good one at that.

Mark sighed.  “Alright, I trust you.”  They smiled at each one last time before the door slam shut and Mark was alone.

* * *

 

It had been a while since Mark had spent so much time without Jinyoung.  One afternoon usually didn’t classify as a long period of time, but in Mark’s case he hadn’t left Jinyoung’s side for the past month, so it felt weird to be by himself.

It was already dark out when Jinyoung staggered through the front door.  He looked exhausted.  “Jinyoungie,” Mark said as he went to go pull him into a hug before he had fully even made it into the house.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine just-“He covered his mouth as he yawned loudly.  “Tired.”

He was grasping a stack of paper in his hands, and Mark tried to catch a glimpse but Jinyoung suddenly jumped out of his grip.  “Hey, no peeking.”

Mark looked at him puzzled.  “Oh, alright.”  Mark didn’t want to pry. “How was your day, did you get to act?”

“Ah, it was good, fun.  They told me I was a natural at acting.”  Jinyoung was fidgety and nervous, as if there was something he was hiding.

“So, you’re doing a play?  What kind of play—“

“Hey, Mark.  I’m really tired; they told me to go back tomorrow, so maybe I’ll just go to bed.  I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”  Jinyoung interjected, before speed walking away to the bedroom. 

Mark stood there stunned for a moment, but brushed it off quickly and followed Jinyoung to their room to sleep.

* * *

 

“Sitting here moping is not going to make him come back any sooner,” Bambam said as he sat down next to Mark.  “You look like a lost puppy.”

The days went by and Jinyoung left every day to prepare for the play.  He said the more practice he puts in the sooner they’ll be able to go on with the show, so he wouldn’t have to worry about him being like this for too long, but it was still strange to Mark.  Jinyoung was still dodging every sort of question involving the play, and it was making Mark more worried every day as to why he was being so secretive.

“Sorry, do you need me to do something?  Chores, maybe?  I’ve never really done them before but you could teach me.”  Mark suggested.

“You’ve never done chores before?”  Bambam asked and Mark realized he shouldn’t have said that.

“I… just never had to?”  Mark was still horrible at coming up with excuses.

“Wow, your parents must’ve spoiled you.  I’m not going to make you do chores unless you really want to, but I can’t just watch you sit here all day and look sad.  Jinyoung really wants to do this, right?”

“I know, it’s not for long, but even a few days without him feels like forever after all the time we’ve spent together.” 

“How long have you guys been together?”  Bambam asked.

“Um… less than a year.”  Bambam tried to hide his giggles but he couldn’t stop smiling.

“You guys are cute,” After speaking aloud about his situation Mark realized how petty he must’ve sounded.  “Well, if you want something to do we can go gather more herbs for more soup!  I’m sure Jinyoung will be thankful.”

Mark realized he shouldn’t be worrying, Jinyoung would tell him if anything was truly wrong.  He was living his dreams he was sure he had nothing to worry about.

“Alright, let’s go.”

* * *

 

Weeks went by and he didn’t even hear from Jinyoung that the play had been scheduled, he learned about it from posters he had seen around the town promoting the show. _‘Come one come all to the grand re-opening Moonlight Theatre, on Saturday night we will be putting on a stunning rendition of Cinderella.’_

Mark wasn’t much of a reader, but he had read _Cinderella_ when he was very young, hardly anyone didn’t know the classic.  Was this why Jinyoung was trying to keep it a surprise?  He knew he had a lead role too, could he be playing the prince?  That would’ve been hilariously ironic.

He spent even more time away these days but Mark understood now that it was because the show was coming up so soon.  Most of the time spent with him was cuddling in their bed together.  When Jinyoung came home late that night and climbed into bed Mark made sure to speak to him before he fell asleep.  “So, why didn’t you tell me your show was so soon?”

Jinyoung jumped, thinking Mark was already asleep.  “Oh, how did you find out!?”

“I saw posters around town, sorry if you wanted to keep it a surprise.  I heard it’s going to be _Cinderella!_ Are you playing the prince?  You have a lead role, right?  I’m so excited!”

“Ah, well yeah, I guess.”  Jinyoung clammed up again and Mark patted his head affectionately.  He was always like this when they discussed it. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, just a little nervous.”

“I know you’ll do great.”

“…I guess we’ll see on Saturday.”

* * *

 

To say Mark was excited would be an understatement, the theatre was already packed full of people all ready to witness Jinyoung’s acting debut.  He was so proud that as soon as he reached he asked if he could be let backstage to give some final words of encouragement to Jinyoung, luckily he found the man he had met on the first day and he was reluctant but he told Mark he could see him for ten minutes maximum, and directed him to where he was.

“Jinyoungie!  Guess who-“  Mark stopped dead in his tracks when he saw him, his jaw dropped open.

“Huh, Mark?!  Wait!  You’re not supposed to see me yet I… I can explain.”   Jinyoung covered his face with his hands and groaned.  “Sorry.”

Jinyoung had on a long blonde wig paired with a long dress, ragged and torn to fit the role.

Mark went from shock, to relief, and then he just started giggling.  “Is this why you were acting so weird all this time, because you didn’t want to tell me you’re playing Cinderella?”

“It’s weird, so weird.  I understand if you’re shocked but I had already promised and I couldn’t say no and—“

“So that’s why he needed someone pretty…” The realization should’ve been obvious to Mark.

“It’s okay, you can laugh, Go ahead.”  Jinyoung had accepted his fate.

“Jinyoung, I’m not laughing at you, it’s just funny that you thought you had to hide it from me.  I’m proud of you, playing Cinderella in _Cinderella,_ that really a lead role.”

“So, you’re okay with it, dress and all?”

Mark got closer and pulled him into a hug.  “Honestly, you look _really_ good in that dress.  I’m... stunned.”

“You think so,” He looked even better up close, his face covered in light makeup.  “Are you blushing?”

“What?!  No!”  Jinyoung was just cackling now and Mark realized he liked the idea of Jinyoung in a dress more than he should.

“I can’t believe I was worried about you being offended by this, and here you are loving the dress…”

“I’m not _loving_ it.”

“Hey, time’s up!”  The man grabbed Mark by the arm and literally dragged him away, with Jinyoung still laughing about the whole situation.

* * *

 

Jinyoung was an amazing actor. It was his very first role but Mark could tell he executed it flawlessly.

It turns out there were no girls that worked in the theatre, so all the roles were played by guys, none of them nearly as pretty as Jinyoung.  He stood out, he could he gasps and murmurs when he came out in his fully decked out in his party dress ready for the ball.  Mark might’ve been sweating at the sight, just a bit.

Mark tried not to be jealous at the end when the man playing the prince went in for a kiss, the stage lights dimmed out before Mark could tell whether it really happened or not, but he hoped he hadn’t kissed anyone for real.  Mark’s heart wasn’t ready for that.

Finally, the curtains closed and everyone stood to applause, they had all loved it.  Bambam and Yugyeom were hollering and screaming next to him in support, Mark just couldn’t stop grinning at how proud he was.

Mark went to go find him after the show to shower him with more hugs and congratulations, Bambam and Yugyeom did the same. 

Jinyoung had already changed back to regular clothes and Mark wasn’t sure if he was upset or relieved. “Thank you guys, your support really means a lot.  Sorry, I’ve been so busy, I feel like I’ve abandoned you.”

“It’s no problem; I didn’t even notice you were gone.”  Yugyeom said earning a glare from Jinyoung and his fist up threatening to punch him.

“Ignore him, you were amazing!  Maybe I should try acting too, seems like fun.”  Bambam said, striking a pose, thinking it would show off his acting skills.

“We’ll be playing this show every weekend for the next month, it’s really exciting.  I heard it was such a success, even more people will come and watch our next shows.”  Mark couldn’t stop smiling looking at how happy Jinyoung was.

“You were really amazing; I knew you had it in you.”  Mark said pulling him for another hug.

“It’s all thanks to you for encouraging me to do this; I would’ve never been able to do it without you.”

“Hey, Jinyoung!”  The staff behind called out to him.  “We’re going out for a drink to celebrate the success of the show, you coming?”

Jinyoung looked at Mark apologetically.  “I won’t go, I know you’ve missed me enough.”

“Hey don’t worry about me, you only get to celebrate your first play being a success once, I’ll still be here tomorrow.  One more day isn’t going to kill me.  Just don’t drink too much; I know you’re a lightweight.”

Jinyoung playfully smacked him on the arm before letting go.  “I’ll make it all up to you tomorrow, I promise.”

With that, Jinyoung left one last time and Mark went back home with Yugyeom and Bambam.

* * *

 

“It’s getting late…”  Mark said to nobody in particular.

“I don’t think anyone goes out to a bar and comes home early.”  Bambam assured him, realizing he was getting worried over the fact that Jinyoung still hadn’t come home.

“I know but I don’t think Jinyoung is the type to stay out this late.”  Mark said, unsure if he was being paranoid or if he had a legitimate reason to be worried.

Three loud knocks on the door startled them all.  Jinyoung didn’t have to knock when he came home, and they didn’t get many visitors out to a house on the edge of the forest, especially this late at night.  They were all scared to answer the door, so Mark peeked out the window to try and get a glimpse of who it was.

Outside he saw a familiar sight, a carriage used by northern kingdom royalty.  “Shit,” Mark immediately ducked behind the sofa.  “They’re royal guards.”

Bambam immediately ducked behind the sofa with Mark.  “I’m not exactly a legal citizen either,” They continued knocking even louder, Mark was certain they weren’t going to leave anytime soon.  “Yugyeom, go answer the door.”

Yugyeom cautiously went to answer the door and was greeted by a royal guard.

“Kim Yugyeom?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The guard pulled a rolled up piece of paper and handed it to him.  “This is your official conscription notice, you will report to town in two days to officially leave.  This is mandatory.”

Mark’s eyes widened as he overheard, he saw Bambam muffle a gasp next to him.

“I don’t understand, why is this happening, and why so soon?  I didn’t even realize…”

“You will find all the details in that notice.  It is your duty to serve your kingdom if you are fit to do so, that is all.” The guard saluted him and left, getting back into the carriage and leaving.

As soon as they were gone Bambam ran over to Yugyeom, pulling the notice out of Yugyeom’s hand and reading it over quickly.  “What, this is impossible, why would the northern kingdom suddenly be going to war?  This is a peaceful nation, this can’t be happening-“His voice cracked and Yugyeom looked at him helplessly.  “This can’t be happening, no… Yugyeom you can’t go, you can’t!”  Tears started building up in his eyes and Yugyeom was speechless, so he decided to just hold him close instead.

“I don’t know what could’ve prompted this, this is mad! How… we don’t even have relation with the western kingdom.”

The whole time they were talking Mark just felt his stomach drop lower and lower.  “Wait, so everyone is getting notices, which means the royal guards are all over town?”

Yugyeom was still trying to console Bambam but he nodded yes and Mark suddenly felt sick. “Shit.”

“Hey!  Where are you going?”  Yugyeom called out but Mark didn’t think, he just ran.  If Jinyoung was still in town he was in danger, he was putting himself just by going but he didn’t care about that.  He just had to make sure Jinyoung was okay.

He regretted a lot of things, living so far away from town, letting Jinyoung go out without him, not even asking him where they were going.  He could play the blame game all day but nothing was going to change the fact Jinyoung wasn’t safe.

He was able to make it to town in half the time it usually took by sprinting, he was tired and he didn’t know where to look.  It was quiet, it seemed like the guards were mostly gone.  He belatedly realized he shouldn’t have run into town by himself, he didn’t even know where to look.

Luckily, Yugyeom and Bambam had run after him, trailing behind, out of breath.  “What in the world has gotten into you, why did you run all the way here?”

“Where’s the bar?  Where, please tell me!  Jinyoung, I need to know if he’s okay!  Please!”

“Calm down, why would he not be okay?” 

“If they find him... please, just tell me!”  Realizing the urgency they guided him to the nearest bar, where they found the rest of the actors but no sign of Jinyoung. 

“Mark?”  The burly man he had met on the first day recognized him immediately.

“Jinyoung, where’s Jinyoung?”  Mark was panting and sweaty, he must’ve looked completely out of it.

The man looked grimly at him.  “I don’t know what happened, we were getting ready to leave and there were royal guards passing through town, they caught one glimpse and him and they suddenly decided they needed to take him away!  I don’t know what happened, they wouldn’t tell us, we were scared…”

The man kept talking but Mark zoned out, his soul felt like it had left his body.  He felt lifeless and broken.  His legs gave out and he fell to the ground.

Jinyoung was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been feeling really... out of it? Unmotivated? Anyways, I'm trying to use the month of August to force myself out of this funk, So I'll try my best to keep you posted. Thanks for reading and I hope you have/had a wonderful day! Your kudos and comments are always appreciated. <3


	13. Chapter 13

“You have some explaining to do.”  They were back at the house, it was very late in the night but Mark couldn’t think about anything other than Jinyoung.  His body was shaking with all the possibilities running through his mind about what could be happening to him.

“I’m sorry.”  Mark’s voice was hoarse, and he realized he wasn’t in any state to be talking.  “It’s too much to explain, Jinyoung and I weren’t supposed to be here.  They weren’t supposed to be here.  Everything was supposed to be okay.”  Mark felt tears running down his cheeks but he didn’t have the will to wipe them away, he knew there was no stopping them once he started.

Bambam wasn’t one hundred percent either, his face puffy and his eyes red, but he was able to pull himself together knowing that Mark had suddenly found himself in an even worse situation.  “I understand, just try to breathe.  The more you think about bad possibilities the more anxious you’re going to get.”  Bambam wrapped his arms around him and Mark couldn’t stop himself, he buried his face in his shoulder and let himself go, full-blown sobs wracking through his body.

“This is entirely my fault, I should have never let Jinyoung get involved with me, and this was all a mistake.  He could’ve been safe.”  Mark was speaking through sobs, his mind spinning and his heart aching.

Yugyeom and Bambam exchanged looks, unsure how to handle the situation.  “Mark… I’m sorry.”  Bambam pulled him closer, knowing this was the only thing he could do.

“I can’t just stay here, I need to find him.  There has to be something I can do.”  Mark looked up at Bambam, shamelessly wiping his tears on his shirt.

“Do you have any idea where they could’ve taken him?”  Yugyeom asked.

“I…”  Mark thought for a moment, it was to be assumed royal guards took him away, but where would they bring him, or rather, who would they bring him to?  “They would take him back home, to Jinhae.”

“Jinhae, all the way there? Wait- you walked all the way here from Jinhae?!”  Yugyeom looked at him wide-eyed.  “I wouldn’t even think that was possible, that’s quite a distance away even by carriage.”

Mark had no idea how far they had walked, he couldn’t have imagined it had been this far.  “That’s the only place he could be.  We need to go, what if- we need to go now.”  Mark suddenly got up, newfound fire behind his eyes.

“Mark, calm down.  It’s the middle of the night, we’re not walking there.  You know firsthand the journey is life-threatening on foot.”  Bambam held Mark by the arm.

“No!  Jinyoung could be hurt we need to do something!”  Mark didn’t mean to yell, but he couldn’t hold back, ripping his arm away from Bambam’s grasp.

“Stop!”  This time, Yugyeom grabbed him and was able to hold him back.  “It’s the middle of the night, if we wait until the morning we can take a coach there, it’ll be much faster if you wait.  There’s nothing we can do, you’ve been up all day, and if you push yourself any further without rest you’re going to collapse.”

“No!  That’s too long... I can’t…”  Mark knew he was fighting a losing battle.

“Just try and sleep, we’ll find a coach to take us in the morning. ”  Mark knew they were right, and he hated it.

Mark finally agreed, but sleeping wasn’t something he could do.  As soon as he climbed into bed all he could think about was how lonely it felt.  Jinyoung’s soft breathing, his warmth, the way he felt when he held him tightly in his arms.  It was all gone.

Mark lay awake through the night, tears soaking his pillow.

* * *

 

“What do you mean there are no coaches running?!”  Mark had always been more calm and collected than the normal person, but right now he felt like he wanted to break something.

“Sorry, all carriages are being prepared to take the men and supplies to the northern kingdom palace military training ground tomorrow, there will be no coaches leaving other than those.”

Mark was a mess; Bambam had almost dropped a dish when he first got a glimpse of him in the morning.  No sleep paired with crying all night didn’t do any justice to his looks; he resembled a zombie.  “You have to make an exception, this is important.”

“More important than making sure the palace receives its soldiers?”  The man sneered back.  Mark realized there was no convincing him and backed down.  “That’s what I thought.  This whole kingdom’s in disarray and you want me to make a special exception for you, a simple villager, unbelievable.”

“The whole kingdom?  What’s going on exactly?”  Bambam questioned the man.

“Have you guys been living under a rock?  The northern palace has been a mess since last week when our high ruler died.” 

“What?!”  Yugyeom exclaimed.  “The high ruler, as in, the king of the northern kingdom!?  How did he die?!”

“I’d like to know that as well, I haven’t heard any details other than that he has died, it didn’t take them long to find a replacement either.  The whole situation is really fishy if you ask me, I don’t trust that new guy, what was his name?  King Park, the former ruler of Jinhae I believe.  I’ve heard of him, nothing good I’m afraid.”

Mark felt his stomach drop.  “The Parks, they’re the new ruling family of the entire kingdom?” 

“Yes, came into power last week, declared war on the western kingdom this week.  This guy moves fast, I heard he was supposed to make some sort of alliance with them but his plans fell through, this entire situation is completely uncalled for.” 

Mark he had no idea how bad the scope of this situation really was.  He knew he had to be linked to the cause of this.  He knew he had really messed up this time.  “That doesn’t make any sense; didn’t the old rulers have anybody to inherit the throne?  Why did they hand it over to another family?”

“I only know what I hear; I’m just as confused as you are.” 

“Mark, are you okay?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”  Bambam said.

“I’m sorry, this is just… a lot of information to digest.”  Mark felt his mind swirling again, unable to think straight.  He felt like he was going to pass out.  “I need to sit down or something.”  No way, there was no way.  If King Park was now ruler, there was no way Jinyoung wouldn’t suffer the highest consequences possible.

“Mark, where are you going?”  Mark walked out of the building, into the streets.

“I need air, I can’t- I feel sick.”  Mark crumpled his body into a ball and kneeled on the side of the street.  “This can’t be happening.”

Bambam leaned down next to him and rubbed his back soothingly.  “Please, just try to stay calm.  Jinyoung is fine, Jinyoung-“

“Seoul.”  Mark said.

“Huh, Seoul?”

“That’s where the northern palace is right, Seoul?  That’s where Jinyoung is, they would’ve taken him there.”

“What, I thought you said they would’ve brought him home to Jinhae.”  Bambam looked utterly confused.

“Seoul, they will bring him straight there.  I’m certain.”  Mark talked in a robotic voice, like he was trying to recalculate a plan of action in his head as he spoke.

Yugyeom finally walked out of the building and jogged over to them.  “It’s no use, he said all the supplies our city can offer are being transported today, and then the soldiers that have to report for mandatory duty are being transported tomorrow.  There’s no way we can get out of town.”

Mark hadn’t noticed before, carriages lined up the road filled with various supplies to be donated to the palace to aid in the upcoming war.  “That’s it!”  Mark didn’t think before he got up and ran over, noticing that the carriages were packed and ready to leave, he made sure nobody was looking before he crawled in the back.

“Mark, wait, what are you doing?  Are you crazy?!”  Bambam called after him as he was halfway in. 

“Shhh, don’t alert them.  It’s perfect; these carriages are going straight to Seoul, right?  I can fit in here, there’s room, I just need to careful and I’ll be there by tomorrow.”  Mark thought it was perfect, but Yugyeom and Bambam didn’t look so sure.

“That’s dangerous; you’re going to get yourself arrested if they find you.”  Yugyeom walked over to him and tried to pull him by the arm.

“No!  Please, there’s nothing else I can do.  I can’t wait here, Jinyoung is in trouble.  Jinyoung is going to _die_ if I don’t do something.  I know my plans are crazy but there isn’t anything I can do by just waiting here.  You can’t stop me.”  Mark was resilient and they had learned by now there was no arguing.

Bambam has stood silently while Yugyeom was trying to dissuade him, engrossed in his own thoughts.  “Let him go, Yugyeom.”  He said, and Yugyeom backed down immediately and turned his attention to him.

“Bambam, what if he gets caught?  He’s out friend now; I can’t let him do this alone.”

“Then I’ll go with him.”   Bambam said, again looking years older than he actually was.  The amount of maturity he was able to portray when he was being entirely serious about something was amazing.

“W-what?  No, Bambam, you of all people-“

“Just because I’m not as strong as you doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself.  You said it yourself; it’ll be safer if he doesn’t go alone.”

“You don’t have to do that, Bambam.  I don’t want to put you in danger; I’ve already caused you guys enough trouble.”  Mark interjected.

“No, please.  Yugyeom will be leaving for mandatory service tomorrow and I’ll be out here alone anyways.  It’s better this way, I’ll have something to do instead of staying here alone worrying about Yugyeom.”

“Bambam…”  Yugyeom looked like a sad puppy as he walked over to him and pulled him into his arms.

“We would’ve had to say goodbye tomorrow anyways, it’s only a one day difference.  You knew this had to happen, if you don’t report for mandatory service you’ll get in trouble.”

“Just one day without you feels like an eternity.”  Yugyeom, suddenly realizing how cheesy that was, cringed violently and Bambam laughed.

“You’re an idiot, seriously.”

“You still love me, though.”  Yugyeom was trying to smile even though he was still distressed.

“Of course, I’ll always love you.”  Bambam leaned into him and Mark felt like the moment was so personal he had to look away.  Their goodbyes reminded him fondly of when he had to do this not too long ago; he smiled somberly at the memory.

There was scuffling around them and he realized people were arriving to take the carriages away and he saw signaled to Bambam that if he wanted in they had to go now. 

“I promise I’ll get back safely.”  Mark heard Bambam say before he was running over to Mark who was crawling in the back of the carriage.

“I know you will, I’ll stay safe as well.”  Yugyeom smiled before he realized he should get out of the area as well, as Bambam followed Mark and squeezed himself in amongst the supplies.  They were lucky they were both on the thinner side, or else they might’ve not had enough room.

Minutes later they heard voices getting louder and people boarding the fronts of the carriages.  They both let out a sigh of relief when they didn’t bother to check the contents before they decided to leave.

When the carriage started moving they were both jostled a bit but they stayed quiet as to not alert anyone of their presence, trying to communicate with hand motions and whispers alone.

Mark wasn’t sure how long it would take to get to Seoul, but no matter how long it took all he hoped for was to get there in time to save Jinyoung.

* * *

 

Mark’s back hurt tremendously when he sprung awake from where he had passed out in the carriage.  He was amazed he managed to fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position; he must’ve been really tired. 

His limbs were still sore when he tried to move them as he sat up and saw a sad-looking Bambam tucked into the opposite corner.  He belatedly realized they weren’t moving anymore.

“We’re not there yet, I checked.  I think we’re just taking a break or something, we’re in another small town.”

“Oh.”  Mark said, realizing it was okay for them to talk.

“Hey Mark, can I ask you something?” 

Mark nestled himself into the most comfortable position he could.  “Yes?”

“How can you be so… brave, even when Jinyoung isn’t around?”

“Brave?  I’ve been a mess for the past 24 hours.  I wouldn’t call that brave.”

“That’s true but your spirit is so strong.  If anything like this happened to Yugyeom I’d probably just sit in my house and cry.  You were willing to break my arm to try and run after Jinyoung, I think that’s really admirable, even now you’re pushing through with trying to save him.”

Mark listened to him speak and he felt the age gap more clearly than he had ever before.  “You miss Yugyeom, right?”

“I wanted to be brave too, that’s why I volunteered to come along, but now I feel awful knowing that I left him in such a hurry.  I didn’t get to say goodbye properly, I just feel… empty?  Incomplete?  I’ve never felt like this before.”

Mark felt like his son was coming to him with his problems hearing Bambam talk to him like this.  “Jinyoung once got upset when I told him I didn’t have any passions in life other than to be with him, and I’ve finally realized what he meant.  You as a human being are not incomplete without your significant other, you are a whole even without them.  No matter how much you love someone it’s dangerous to think you can’t live without them,” Bambam was looking at him weirdly, like that was not what he was expecting him to say.

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t miss him?”

“Not at all, what I’m saying is that you shouldn’t depend on someone else to have something to live for.  I mean, I always feel like if Jinyoung wasn’t around there won’t by any reason in living on but we shouldn’t think like that.  We should live our own lives knowing that we can always move on, no matter how hard it is. If anything happens to us the people we love will want us to move on by ourselves.  We can worry all we want but we shouldn’t automatically assume our life can’t move forward when they aren’t around.”

“That doesn’t stop me from feeling distressed, but I understand.”

“Yugyeom is smart, he’ll do the best to take care of himself as long s you do your best as well.  There’s no need to worry.”  Mark felt like he was spewing lies, considering the situation he was in currently, but he saw Bambam calm down a bit after talking and he knew he did the right thing.

“I can do this, _we_ can do this.  Jinyoung is going to be alright.”

Mark didn’t realize it before but he had changed a lot since he met Jinyoung.

Mark smiled.  “That’s the confidence that I always want to see.”

* * *

 

The bustling of townsfolk around them slowly got louder and Mark knew they had finally reached Seoul, the most popular town in the northern kingdom and in the center was the palace; the home of the rulers of the northern kingdom.

Mark knew it would be dangerous to even let anyone see his face under the circumstances, so trying to get out inconspicuously was going to be a rough task that he hadn’t planned for.  Every now and then Bambam peered out the back to see what was going on, but townsfolk were always buzzing.  There were no chances to leave.  If they reached the military base their cover would be blown, so they had to think of a way to get out and fast.

“Hey,” Bambam whispered.  “I think we’re leaving the city.  There’s not a lot of people, we have to get out now but I don’t know how-“

“You need to jump.”

“What?” Bambam was having a hard time keeping his voice low.

“We need to get out, you need to jump, duck and roll.  You’ll be fine, trust me.”

“Are you crazy?!”  Bambam realized he spoke too loudly and Mark covered his mouth.

“Shhh, it’ll be fine.”  The carriage slowed down a bit and Mark wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.  “Just do what I do.”

Bambam didn’t even get a chance to reply before Mark shoved him aside and jumped right out the back, rolled, and made it out safely.  Realizing if he didn’t follow suit he would be left behind, Bambam copied, flustered he almost tripped but Mark was able to catch him.  

“See, that wasn’t so bad.”

“Oh my god!!  You are crazy!! How am I alive, what the hell did I just do?”  Bambam said, breathing heavily in Mark’s arms.

“Relax Bam, you’re fine.”

“Where did you learn how to do that?!”

“Royal kidnappings are common, it’s standard we learn some things to avoid being captured.” 

“Ow, my knee hurts, my back hurts, my…. wait- what?  _Royal_ kidnappings?  Mark… if you don’t tell me everything right now I’m leaving.  This is too crazy, what did I agree to?”

“Wait,” Mark dragged Bambam off to the side of the road, into the trees.  “I agree you deserve to know.”

Bambam was lying on the ground trying to soothe his sore body when Mark started talking.

“I can’t explain everything right now but basically both me and Jinyoung are princes and we were both arranged to marry different people but you know we kind of liked each other more so to get out of said marriages we decided to just run away from the palace in Jinhae and I’m pretty sure we’re in a lot of trouble now because Jinyoung was taken away and we may or may not have been the cause of the entire conflict starting the current war.”  Mark said all in one breath, bracing for Bambam’s reaction.

“I… what?!”  Bambam started at him dumbfounded.  “That’s really funny Mark, don’t scare me like that.”

“That’s the truth…”  Mark just stared at him awkwardly until Bambam realized that yes; that was the truth.

“Are you completely insane?!  How in the world did this happen?  I can’t believe this, so you think Jinyoung is…”

“His father is the new ruler, so my best guess is that they would’ve brought him back to his family, at the palace.”

Bambam simply put his head back down on the ground.  “I’m going to need a moment; just let me lie here for a moment.”

“Sorry, you probably wouldn’t have agreed to help if you knew.”

“I probably would’ve been more hesitant, but I still would’ve helped.”

“Thanks,” Mark suddenly remembered the predicament they were in.  “Where are we?”

“It looks like some wooded area between the military base and the town, but I’m not exactly sure-“Bambam finally picked himself up to take a look at his surroundings.  “Oh, I believe that what you’re looking for.”  Bambam pointed up at the huge tower obstructing their view, the palace.  If the palace back in Jinhae was huge, this place was larger than the entire town.

“Great!  We’re close too, we just need to go there and hopefully Jinyoung is there and-“

“You’re really great at acting like you have a plan when you really have no idea what you’re doing, right?”

“…we’ll figure something out when we get there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than expected, it somehow didn't feel like as long as it was... that cliffhanger hurt me a bit too LOL. I wanted to cliffhang this chapter too but I decided against it because I'm not sure when I'm going to update again and I hate to see you guys suffer again... also i proofread this at 3am half-asleep so I'm sorry for any typos!! Thanks for reading, your comments and kudos are always appreciated, and I hope you have/had a wonderful day. <3


	14. Chapter 14

The palace was surrounded by forests on all sides, with only a small road carved out to let people in through the main gate.  The only way in was to cross a drawbridge at the entrance since the entire perimeter was surround by a moat.  The front was heavily guarded, making the castle almost impenetrable.

“Can you swim?”  Mark asked.

“I really don’t think that’s going to be the stealthiest way to get in, we’re going to get caught.”  Bambam sighed.  “Seriously, what would you do without me?  You’d be dead by now if I weren’t here.”

“I don’t see you coming up with any better ideas.”  Mark ran a hand through his hair, stressed and out of ideas. 

“Hey, lay low, there’s a carriage heading this way.”  Bambam said as he pulled Mark down so they were completely hidden. 

Mark sneaked a peak at the carriage and realized it was the one used for transporting the royal family.  He shuddered at the thought of being so close to them again, especially King Park, who gave him shivers from ten metres away.

When the carriage finally passed in front of them he realized the king and queen were not out. Instead, he saw a familiar face inside.  That’s when he saw his ticket inside the castle.

“Mark, where are you going?”  Mark was up and walking along with the carriage, scouring the ground until he found a rock, took his aim, and pelted it right at the carriage window.  “What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!”  Bambam was laying low while following behind, mortified at his actions.

Mark was ignoring him, trying to wave at the carriage but still not get noticed by the guards surrounding it.  Inside the carriage sat only two people and he recognized them both.  He just had to get their attention.

He picked up another rock and hit the window again, this time, it making a loud noise and finally causing the person inside to look his way.  He didn’t dare yell, but he waved his arms up in the air and mouthed the words ‘SOOYOUNG’ in hopes that she would see him.

She was able to look out the window at the right moment and see him and she looked like she couldn’t believe her eyes.  He couldn’t hear here through the window, but she was pretty sure she mouthed something like ‘Tuan?’

He didn’t have time for her to be dazed, as soon as they were aware of each other’s presence he pointed at himself and then to the castle, conveying the message that he needed to get inside.

She took a second to process the words and then turned to whisper something to Sungjae sitting next to her.  The carriage was still moving and he was still jogging to keep up with them when Sooyoung stood up and screamed.

“Princess Park!  Is something wrong?  Something is wrong with the princess!”  The carriage halted and the guards rushed towards her chamber.  She still kept on screaming, breaking out into full-blown sobs, not telling anyone what was going on. 

Mark decided extraordinary acting must have run in the Park family.

When all the guards were distracted by her outburst Sungjae was able to sneak out and grab Mark and pull him towards to carriage, and Mark pulled Bambam along with him.

“Hey, long time no see,”  Sungjae said in a hushed whisper as he pulled them along.  “We can’t really talk now, but I’m guessing you need to get inside the castle for some reason.  Quickly hide inside the storage carrier on the back, there’s nothing in there. Once we stop moving I’ll make sure the coast is clear so you can get in.  Head to the left to the smaller quarters, that’s where all the servants are.  I’ll be waiting there.”  Before Mark could reply he and Bambam were shoved inside and the cover came down on top of them, leaving them in a small dark space awkwardly curled up against each other.  They tried not to touch each other more than necessary, but it was difficult with such a small space, so they had to accept it and huddle together uncomfortably.

Sooyoung’s wails finally ended, he couldn’t hear what kind of excuse she made but he made a mental note that if he was able to get out of this mess the first this he would do is thank her.  She was still the best girl he had met in his entire life.

* * *

 

Once Mark was sure he was on castle grounds and all the guards had left, he risked a peek out the top by lifting the lid of the storage carrier.  The coast seemed clear so he decided to move quickly, following Sungjae’s instructions.

The castle was huge, but it was to be expected since it was the largest in the kingdom.  It worked to their advantage; it would be hard to spot them.

Mark saw Sungjae at the building and he pulled them in and guided them into one of the rooms.  “Here, if you want to stay undercover put on one of the servant uniforms.  If you don’t draw any attention to yourself nobody’s going to recognize you out of all the staff here.

“Sungjae, thank you so much.”  Mark was finally able to speak clearly to him.

“Thank Sooyoung, she was the one who spotted you.  I don’t know why you’re back, but I don’t want to leave Sooyoung alone for long, I need to get back to her.”

“Wait, we were actually looking for Jinyoung, he was captured by royal guards and I know they would’ve taken him here!  Please, do you know anything?”

“Prince Park?  Here?”  Sungjae looked shocked.  “He’s not here, I don’t think so, you’re saying he was captured?  By royal guards?  I don’t know about everything happening in the castle, you can try asking someone else but I have no idea.  I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.  I know you’re only worried about Sooyoung, please continue to protect her.  We’ll figure things out.”

“Alright, I’ll tell her what’s going on maybe she’ll have some idea.  Just remember this is all I can help with; if you get caught the consequences are going to be high.  King Park’s fury is no joke. If Prince Park is really here… I will pray for his safety.”  Mark knew Sungjae was only being realistic, but it hurt him to think that he might be too late.  “I’ll be leaving, stay safe.”

* * *

 

Bambam hadn’t spoken for a while, and Mark realized this whole situation must have shaken him.  “Bambam, are you okay?”

“What have I gotten myself into?  I just wanted to live a nice quiet life in the forest but I somehow decided to rescue some guys in the forest and let myself caught up in this mess.”  Bambam rubbed his forehead with his hand.  “Are you sure we’ll be able to find Jinyoung?  This is far more serious than I ever imagined.”

“Don’t lose hope, he has to be here.  I _know_ he’s here.”

Mark and Bambam were now walking through the servant area corridors that seemed to go on forever.  Nobody seemed too interested in their presence.  Every time he saw anyone vaguely familiar he would avoid their glance, it seemed to be working so far. 

“Where could he be?  We may be inside now, but neither of know where anything is in this place.  One wrong turn and it seems like we’ll be lost forever.”  Mark remembered how he had a hard time traversing even the Park’s smaller castle, this place was a whole new level of confusing.  “We’re not even out of the servant’s quarters yet.”

Mark stopped dead in his tracks and Bambam stopped behind him.

“Why did you stop—“

“Shh.”  Mark shushed him and closed his eyes.  He could hear soft somber music coming down one of the halls.  The intricate piano playing made him think of one person who he could trust.  “Follow me, this way.”

He practically pulled Bambam along as the music got louder and they approached a room, the source.

Mark pushed the door open to find a room filled with various instruments, but only one person sat in the corner.  He played the piano, melancholy tunes filling the air.  Mark could recognize him anywhere.

He slowly approached the figure and tapped him on the back.  “Youngjae.”

Youngjae jumped, turning around to face him and not believing his eyes.  “P-prince… Tuan?!”

Mark shushed him; he didn’t want anyone calling him a prince.  “Youngjae, don’t freak out.  It’s me, I can’t explain everything, but I need your help.”

After taking a closer look he realized Youngjae was different.  He was usually all full of life, a spring in his step, sunshine in human form.   When he looked at him now he seemed dejected, his eyes red, a scowl on his face.  “You.”

Youngjae spoke with venom in his voice, and it almost scared Mark.  He didn’t even know Youngjae had that type of voice.  “Youngjae, is something wrong?  It’s me, Mark.”

“This… is all your fault,” Youngjae got up from the piano and started at him intensely.  Mark had never noticed Youngjae was taller than him before.   “This is all your fault!!”

Before Mark could even process what was happening Youngjae’s fist collided with his face.  It wasn’t anything serious, not hard enough to give him even much of a bruise, but it hurt nonetheless.  “Argh, what the heck?!”

Youngjae gasped and put his hands over his face, shocked at his own actions. “Oh my gosh!  Oh my… I’m so sorry I’m…”  Youngjae heaved and then tears started falling from his face.  “I’m so sorry.”

Mark quickly forgot about his face when he realized something was seriously wrong with Youngjae.  “Youngjae!  Calm down, it’s okay.  I’m fine, Youngjae, please.  Breathe.”  He was hyperventilating and Mark was trying to calm him down, even Bambam jumped in to give a comforting pat on the back.

“I’m so so sorry... I’m so…”

“Youngjae, I’m back!  I brought you a cup of water, should I—“Mark froze when he heard the voice of someone behind him.  “Youngjae!  Oh no Youngjae- not again, don’t cry!  Please.”

“Jackson?”  The man turned around from Youngjae and as soon as their eyes met he felt so much better.

“Mark?”  Jackson’s voice came out as a whisper, his eyes widening and a grin slowly spreading across his face.  “Mark?  Mark!  Is that really you?”

Mark couldn’t help but smile back; he hadn’t realized how much he missed Jackson.  He didn’t even complain when he shoved the cup of water into Youngjae’s hands and tackled him in a bone crushing hug.  “Good to see you too?”

“Mark!  Oh my gosh, I’ve missed you so much!  I was so worried, I had no idea what happened to you and Jinyoung, I was so sure you died in the forest, but you’re here and you’re alive and… and…”  Jackson peered over Mark’s shoulder and looked at Bambam.  “Jinyoung looks really different.”

“That’s not Jinyoung.”  Mark clarified.

“I’m Bambam.”

Jackson looked at him then detached himself from Mark and gave him a disapproving look.  “Wait, are you telling me you left Jinyoung already?  For this guy?!”

“What do you mean _this guy_?!”  Bambam looked at him offended.

“What, no!  I’m not with him!  Jackson, seriously, use your brain.”  In the midst of the confusion Youngjae had stopped crying and was only slightly whimpering, Jackson’s antics were hard not to laugh at even when you were having a breakdown.

“Whatever!  I’m just so happy to see you again! Mark, it’s been hell without you!  Why are you back here, it’s dangerous for you and Jinyoung to be here!  Wait, where is Jinyoung?”

Mark’s face fell.  “That’s why I’m here actually; Jinyoung was taken by royal guards.  I heard King Park now rules over the kingdom, so this is the only spot where I thought he could be.”

“Taken?  You mean… he’s gone?”  Jackson wrapped his arms around Mark again, realizing how heavy the situation was.  “Are you okay?”  He whispered in his ear, genuinely concerned.

Mark hugged him back, nobody understood him as well as Jackson did.  He was trying to stay strong but he could see right the sadness in his eyes.  “I’m trying to stay positive, but of course I’m not okay.”

“I see, I understand.”  Jackson patted him one last time on the back before he took a seat next to Youngjae. 

“I’m here to find him, but I have no idea what’s going on anymore.”

“Things have been hell here, with the moving of kingdoms and the war declarations.”

“War?  So you know what’s happening.”  Mark crossed his arms and prepared himself for some answers.

“Honestly, it’s a bit of a mess and I’m still unclear.  Nobody knows how King Park was able to come to power after the mysterious death of the former ruler; my hunch is that he’s the one behind everything, including the death.” 

Mark had the same hunch, even though he didn’t want to believe he was so corrupt.  “So, everyone moved here to the new castle, and now King Park has a lot more power.” 

“That’s correct.  As for the war, it kind of has to do with you and Jinyoung.”  Mark had hoped that wasn’t the case, but of course, he was wrong.  “Since both you and Jinyoung’s marriages fell through, it was caused conflict with the Eastern and Western kingdoms.  They don’t support us or King Park, and it seems as though the Southern kingdom wants to align with them as well and overturn the Northern kingdom.” 

“That’s a battle we can’t win, what is the King thinking?”

“King Park only has the need for fighting and becoming the very best, I’m sure he’s not going to go down without a fight no matter the circumstances.” 

“This is crazy, I had no idea us leaving would cause this I’m… so sorry.  We really screwed up, didn’t we?”

Jackson didn’t seem to have an answer, he didn’t want to agree but he knew deep down it was the truth.  “As for Jinyoung, I haven’t seen him.  I’m sure he’s still alive.  King Park hates him; he wouldn’t let him die so easily, he’s going to make sure he pays for his crimes.”

Jackson’s words just made him feel even more unsettled. “I need to find him and leave, it’s dangerous, we have to...”

“Go where?  The entire kingdom will be under attack.  It’s going to be hard to get away.”  Mark knew firsthand how had trying to escape had been.

“I just need to find him, and then we can all figure that out!  All of us have to leave this time, you, Youngjae, Sooyoung, Jaebum-“

Youngjae’s head immediately fell and he buried his face in his hands again, trying to keep calm but Mark saw him shaking.  “Youngjae?  No, what’s wrong?”  Mark bent down and threw his arms around him.

“That’s another thing… Jaebum isn’t with us anymore.”  Jackson said and Youngjae started crying again.

“What?!”  Mark looked at Jackson but Jackson was just trying to make sure Youngjae was okay.

“It was the night you left, he managed to help you guys by warning you about the guards after you by yelling,” Mark did remember that. If he hadn’t done what he did they wouldn’t have been able to escape in time.  “He obviously couldn’t escape at that time; they marked his as a conspirator and sent him to jail immediately.”

Mark had no idea.  All this time, Jaebum had been gone.  He knew how much Youngjae depended on Jaebum.  Youngjae had been in this state the entire time he was gone.  “No…” 

“I’m s-sorry… I punched you in the face.”  Youngjae finally spoke up.  “I didn’t mean to…”  Mark didn’t care about that.  Youngjae deserved to punch Mark in the face more than once.

“No, I’m sorry.  This is all my fault.  I caused all of this, just because of my stupid-“

“It wasn’t stupid,”  Youngjae interjected.  “There was no happy ending for this, any way this played out one of us would’ve ended up hurt.”

“So, Jaebum…”

Jackson looked upset, like he didn’t want to say anything, especially in front of Youngjae.  “He was thrown in jail a while ago, back in Jinhae.  The chances that he’s still alive are slim.”

Mark pulled Youngjae closer and squeezed him tight.  “This castle has its own dungeon and cells right?  There’s a chance he could be there.”

“It does, but why would he be here?  Even if they kept him alive they probably would’ve left him back in Jinhae.  There would be no reason to transport him here.” 

“There’s always a chance,” Mark looked at Jackson signalling him to play along.  “It’s not over until you lose hope.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Jinyoung and Jaebum both have been captured, there’s a chance both of them could be down there.  I say we go, anything’s worth a shot at this point.”

Youngjae wiggled out of Mark’s grasp and game him a heated gaze.  “Do you really think Jaebum could still be alive?”

“We will never know unless we check, Youngjae.” 

“So, we just risked our lives breaking into a castle, now you want to risk our lives breaking into a jail?  I’m really started to regret coming with you.”  Mark had almost forgotten Bambam was there, listening to everything.

“I’m sorry, who were you again?  Boomboom?”  Jackson looked him up and down trying to decipher his role here.

“It’s _Bambam_ , and I’m just Mark’s friend who wanted to help him out but didn’t realize I’d be risking my life multiple times in one day.” 

“Well!  You don’t’ have to come!  Me?  I’m always here to support Mark!  Besides, a jail break-in sounds cool; I’m already planning it all out in my head.  Don’t worry Jinyoung and Jaebum!  Jackson is coming!”  Jackson stood up and pumped his fist in the air.

Bambam sighed.  “I’m not abandoning you after all of this, I’m coming too.”

“Alright, Bambam!  New partner in crime!”  Jackson pulled him into one of his signature hugs and Bambam overreacted just as Jackson, causing them both to laugh.  Mark was glad someone finally was ready to put up with Jackson’s antics from the get-go.

“Youngjae!  You can stay here and guard the castle.”  Jackson said, pointing to him.

Youngjae wiped the last traces of tears from his face.  “No way, I’m coming with you.”

“Youngjae,” Mark held him by the shoulders as he spoke.  “Are you sure?  It’s dangerous; I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I’m not a baby; I’d feel completely useless if I didn’t go.  I’m sure I can help, I’m not afraid, even if they’re not there I have to try.”  Mark saw the same fire behind his eyes that fueled him to go after Jinyoung in the first place.  There was no way he could turn him down.

“That settles it then, we have to figure out a way for all four of us to get in there.”

“Leave it to me!”  Jackson had one leg up on the piano bench.  “I’ll think of a plan, and then we’ll depart at dawn!  YoungBamMarkSon will be unbeatable!”

Bambam nudged Mark and whispered in his ear.  “Is he always like this?”

“Yes.”  Mark whispered back.

“How do you put up with it?”

Mark smiled.  “Once you get used to it, you wouldn’t want it any other way.”


	15. Chapter 15

“So, what’s it like being a prison guard?” Jackson asked, gesturing dramatically and making sure he had the guard’s full attention as he spoke.

It had been a long night. They kept trying to think of different plans to get into the prison but the more they examined the situation at hand the more they realized it was a nearly impossible task. 

The night had consisted of Jackson pitching some sort of farfetched idea, Bambam telling him it was ridiculous, them arguing about the fact, Youngjae looking lost, and Mark being exhausted by the whole situation.

They had fallen asleep at some point, ruining the idea to do anything at dawn.  It was already ten in the morning when they realized they had fallen asleep.  Mark woke up in a panic, not believing he’d allowed himself to fall asleep at such a critical time.

They decided they couldn’t waste any more time so they went with something Jackson suggested, knowing it wasn’t planned well.  There wasn’t much they could do and they knew if they waited too long it could be too late.

Mark, Bambam, and Youngjae had been put into guard uniforms that consisted of helmets and armor so that they would be able to blend in. Mark had no idea why Jackson had access to these kinds of things, in the time he was gone he seemed to have befriended almost all the workers in the castle.  Unfortunately, Jackson hadn’t met with any prison guards, but he was confident he would be able to get them on his side.

“Who are you?”  One of the two guards standing at the entrance sneered.

“I’m one the workers here and I was just making rounds around the castle when I realized, I’ve never been to the dungeon before!  What a shame, do you guys do tours or something?”  Jackson asked, a huge smile on his face, trying to soften them up.

“Get lost, nobody is allowed inside, especially today.” 

“Oh, is there something special happening today?”  Jackson bravely locked an arm around the one guard who was giving him a hard time and spun him around.  “I feel like we servants don’t know about any sort of events going on!  Is it anything fun?”

That was what they were waiting for, as soon as they weren’t paying attention Mark, Youngjae, and Bambam snuck past them quickly.  They were almost in when one of the guards turned around and saw them and Mark thought they were good as dead, but luckily, he seemed to notice them but not say anything.  Mark took at as some sort of sign from above and decided to make his way in further and hoped nothing would go wrong.

They hadn’t planned past this point and Mark felt his confidence sinking as they went deeper into the darkness of the dungeons, down a staircase into a dimly lit hallway.  The pungent smell was harsh against his nostrils even through the helmet, he felt sick just thinking about all the things that happened down there through the years.  It was even worse when he thought about Jinyoung being kept down there.

They had hoped the disguises would be enough for them to be able to get by any other guards lurking around but strangely, the place seemed empty.  Mark was sure there would be a lot of guards scattered around the cells but there didn’t seem to be a single soul in sight.

Youngjae’s hand reached out to him from in front, and Mark got the message.  He held his hand tightly, trying to stop him from shaking, but he knew this place was frightening even for him.

They passed cell after cell but they all seemed to be empty.  It made sense; prisoners weren’t usually kept for long. They were kept until they were processed and sentenced, most being set to be executed in only a few days time.  The rest were sentenced to things like general labour for a minor infraction.  If you were being kept in a cell you were either put there recently or being kept there for an important reason.

Over half way down the hall and still not a single person in sight.  All three of them were too scared to speak still, but if it were really empty that would explain the lack of guards.  That was impossible, though, Jinyoung _had_ to be there.  He didn’t want to imagine any other possibility.

They had finally reached the back wall, not a guard in sight.  Bambam finally decided it was safe to speak.  “This place is awful,” He pulled his helmet off and immediately regretted it.  “It smells disgusting in here.”

“There has to be someone here, Jinyoung…” 

“Tuan?”  All three of them were startled when they heard a voice coming from the very last cell, so dark they could barely see inside.  “Prince…”  The person took a trembling breath, as though even speaking was hard.  “Prince Tuan…”

Youngjae was the first to react, pulling his helmet off and rushing up to look through the bars.  A figure was barely visible shrouded in shadows against the back of the cell.  He strained his eyes to try to see until he was able to recognize him.  “J-Jaebum?”  Youngjae’s voice cracked as he spoke.

Bambam and Mark were at Youngjae side soon after.  Mark saw Youngjae tearing up and pulled him into his arms.

“Youngjae?”  Jaebum took another straining breath and coughed.  “No… don’t look at me.”

Bambam noticed the keys to the cell were sitting right on the wall.  “No guards, keys to the cell right here, something is wrong.  Shouldn’t there be guards?  Can’t he just escape?”

“It’s hard to escape when you can’t walk.”  Jaebum’s voice was husky and weak, but still held a note of cold humour.  “My leg might be broken, maybe they’re both broken.  I’m not really sure.  I don’t even notice the pain anymore.  I feel numb.”

“What the hell happened?”  Mark finally broke.

“It’s funny you of all people don’t know.” Jaebum said harshly. 

“I know how you ended up here, but how did you end up….”

“Tortured?  Beaten daily?  Had hot irons put against me?  Chained up and left hanging for hours?  It’s because the guards here are persistent.  They believed I had information.  They believed I knew where you and Jinyoung were no matter how much I denied it.  I should be thankful, it’s the only reason they kept me alive this whole time.”  Jaebum’s voice struggled to keep up with all the things he wanted to say. 

Mark felt nauseous again.  Another person made to suffer for his rash decisions.  This time he knew there wasn’t anything he could say to make the situation better, so he just stood there in stunned silence as Youngjae sobbed against him.

Bambam was the only one able to keep his wits about him, and he was able to open the cell door. 

Jaebum didn’t move and Youngjae decided to be the first to walk in, still crying.  Mark followed behind.  He was even more shocked when he saw Jaebum up close, covered in bruises and ultimately looking like he was only hanging onto life by a fine thread.

“Youngjae, why are you here?  I told you not to look.”  Jaebum tilted his head, unable to stare directly at Youngjae.

“I’m so sorry, this whole time you were alive.  This whole time I thought you were dead but you were alive this whole time and I didn’t do anything.” 

“Youngjae please don’t cry, this isn’t your fault,” Jaebum was cut-off when Youngjae sat down and put his arms around him, softly so he wouldn’t hurt him further.  “Youngjae don’t, you’re going to get blood on you.”

“I’m so happy.”  Youngjae whispered through tears.

“What was that?”  Jaebum finally looked at him, his gaze soft.

“I’m so happy you’re alive.  We can point fingers all day but all that matters is that you’re alive. I don’t know how to express it, but you’re going to be alright.  I’m going to make sure nothing bad happens to you from now on.”  Youngjae’s tipped his head up and stared Jaebum right in the eyes.

“What do you mean?” 

“I’m not weak.  I may get sick a lot, and I’m clumsy, and I still have a lot to learn but you’ve protected me since the day we met.  You always put my needs before yours.  I was always thankful but you need to realize my needs aren’t everything, you’re as important to me and I am to you.  I want to protect you for once in my life.  It’s the least I can do.”

“Youngjae-“

“Don’t say anything stupid like ‘I don’t need your help’ or “I’ll be fine’ because you’re not okay.  Stop being so stubborn for once and admit you need help; everyone needs to depend on someone at some point in their life.  Nobody can do everything alone.”

Mark witnessed Jaebum breaking down right before him.  His eyes blinked rapidly as tears started flowing down his face.  “I never gave up my will to live.  I kept thinking that I’d make it through this,” Youngjae held him tighter in his arms.  “What kept me alive was hope that I’d get to see you again.”  Jaebum weakly put one of his arms around Youngjae, the other too damaged the move properly.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to stay.  I’ll take care of you from now on.” 

Mark felt himself a bit teary eyed as well, not only because of the scene before him but also because despite Jaebum being here, there was no sign of Jinyoung.

“It looks like Jinyoung isn’t here.”  Bambam spoke realistically.

“Jinyoung was here.”  Jaebum suddenly said, cutting the sad mood and igniting Mark’s spirit.  “He was being held here up until this morning in the cell right across from me when suddenly they took him away.  They requested every single guard in here go with him.”

That explained why it was so empty.  Mark was so excited to _finally_ hear something about Jinyoung, but then the realization started to sink in.  “They took him away… for sentencing?”

“I don’t know where they took him, it was so sudden.”

“We need to leave now, Jinyoung is somewhere out there.”  Mark put the helmet back on his head.

“We can’t leave Jaebum here,” Youngjae spoke up.  “We came all this way…”

“Youngjae, I’m useless, I can barely move.  You should just leave me here. “

“No way.”  Youngjae was set in his decision.  He leaned down and grabbed Jaebum’s legs from behind him.  “I’ll carry you.”

“Youngjae, you can’t-“

“I’m not as frail as I look, just get on my back.”  Youngjae practically pulled him up onto him and carried him with ease.

“Do you really think they’re not going to see us carrying a prisoner out of a prison?”  Bambam asked.

“Let’s just go, if anything Jackson should be able to cover for us.  He’s been talking to the guards for a while now; if I know Jackson there isn’t anyone who can resist his charm.”

* * *

 

“So, you said you were just put on the job today, Namjoonie?”  Jackson had his body attached to the guard’s left side as Mark peeked out from behind a wall to observe the situation.

“Just because I told you my name doesn’t mean you’re allowed to address me like that, and for god’s sake can you _get off me_?”

“We’re friends, though, right?”  Jackson had somehow gotten him to remove his helmet and talk to him.

“I never said that.”

Jackson feigned hurt, gasping loudly.  “You said you would be friends with me!”

“I said we could be friends if you kindly _remove_ yourself from me.”

“It’s just a hug!  Friends are supposed to hug each other.” 

Namjoon groaned.  “When they assigned me this stand-in position this morning they didn’t tell me I’d had to fend off overbearing servants.” 

“Oh, so you’re a stand-in?  I guess that’s why we’ve never met!”

“Yes, I just arrived here this morning and they assigned me here because I looked suitable enough for the job.  They were wrong; I obviously wasn’t prepared for _this_.”  Namjoon tried again to pry Jackson off of him and failed.

“What about your partner there?  He’s really quiet.”

“He’s a stand-in like me but he hasn’t spoken to me yet, maybe you can try to befriend him instead?”

“Not until you agree to be my friend,” Jackson spotted Mark out of the corner of his eye and tried his best to distract the guards to the fullest.  “Namjoonie please!”

“For the love of-“Namjoon was just about to remove Jackson with force when he spotted the four of them out of the corner of his eye.  “What the hell?  Trespassers!”  He yelled as he pushed Jackson away and reached for his weapon.

“Shit,” Mark muttered, realizing Youngjae wouldn’t be able to run while carrying Jaebum.  “Jackson…”  Jackson was sitting on the ground, rubbing his back from where he fell.

“I’m sorry; I don’t know how anyone could resist me!” 

Namjoon was about to attack when the other guard suddenly and swiftly punched him in the back of his uncovered head with his armored glove, knocking him out cold.

Everyone looked up at the guard stunned.

“He’s going to be fine, he just passed out and- _oh my gosh_.  I can’t believe I just did that!  I’m awful.”  The guard spoke and Mark immediately recognized his voice and breathed a sigh of relief.

Bambam rushed over and pulled his helmet off and started smiling brightly when he confirmed who it was.  “Ah, seriously?  I just said bye to you but you’re here again, couldn’t stay away could you?”  Yugyeom hugged Bambam so tightly he lifted him off his feet, pressing kisses on his face.

“It’s not that, as soon as I arrived here for military training they said they needed stand-in guards suddenly.  I told them I wasn’t suitable but they took one look at me and said I’ll do…”

Bambam burst out laughing.  “I’ve never been so thankful you’re a giant.”

“I-wait!  We can’t talk right now, I saw Jinyoung this morning and I’ve been so worried but I didn’t know what to do!  It’s been eating at me for hours!”  Yugyeom was panicked.

“You saw him too?”  Mark asked, as they all waited anxiously for details.

“We were put here as stand-ins because all the guards were to escort him to town and make sure he didn’t escape.  He’s apparently been giving them a really hard time; they had him secured pretty tightly.”

Mark could only think about how upset Jinyoung must’ve been, probably feeling the same way Mark did this entire time, trying desperately to escape.  “They took him to town?  Why would they…”  Mark’s heart sank for the hundredth time that day.  “Jackson, do you know what time it is?”

“Time?  If I had to guess it’s probably half past eleven, why?”

“Do you know what time they do public executions in town every day?”

“Oh, you mean the daily hangings?  Exactly noon.”  Jackson spoke and soon realized why Mark looked like he had just seen a ghost.  “Oh _no_.”

Mark shoved his helmet back on, knowing he had to move forward no matter what.  “Where’s the princess?  I need her help again.”

* * *

 

Every minute that passed Mark felt like he was one step closer the end.  Everything was too slow.  Every moment without Jinyoung felt like an eternity already, but now every moment not knowing if he was alive was slowly killing him.

They had managed to track down Sooyoung and she was able to sneak them him out via chariot so they could reach town as quickly as possible, but even if this was the fastest way he couldn’t help the thoughts that were plaguing him constantly, telling him that he was too late.  Even if he were to reach in time, what could he do that wouldn’t end up in both of them getting killed?

He wanted to go alone, but the others wouldn’t allow him.  He wasn’t the only one who cared deeply enough about Jinyoung they would risk their life to help him, so he was together with the five of them.  Even Jaebum ended up coming along, although he couldn’t do much.  He couldn’t be left behind knowing it was Jinyoung who needed help.

It wasn’t a long ride towards town, but it was enough for them to discuss something and pray everything would work out.

Arriving at the middle of town he was met with a huge crowd, larger than crowds present for any regular hanging.

He wore his guard uniform to cover his face, but nobody was really paying attention to him anyways.

The sight was so eerily familiar.  He never wanted to witness anyone being executed ever again, yet here he was.

The set-up was much grander in Seoul than back in Jinhae.  Droves of people gathered around the tall ledge where people were hung.

He pushed his way through the crowd, listening to the people speaking.

_“Is the king really executing his own son?  That’s cruel.”_

_“He has committed unforgivable sins!  He should burn in hell, no matter who he is!”_

_“Is this right?  Is the king really okay?  I question his morality.”_

_“Rid our nation of disgusting people!  Let them all be gone!”_

_“I’m scared, why is this happening?  Are we really going to war?”_

Making his way to the front he knew what he would witness but there was nothing that could ever prepare him for finally seeing Jinyoung again only for him to be standing with a noose around his neck, one step away from his death.

“You have violated section 13 of the criminal code by performing acts of gross indecency,” Mark could recognize King Park’s voice from a mile away.  Familiar chills ran down his spine as he listened to him speak.  “Unfortunately, laws are meant to be followed. Even if it’s my own son, as the king of our great kingdom I must abide by these rules.”

“You’re a _liar_.”  Jinyoung spat.  “You don’t care, you never cared.”

The murmurs amongst the crowd became louder.  People stood in solidarity, while others stood in unease.

Mark saw the others out of the corner of his eye, in guard uniforms blending in with the rest behind where Jinyoung was standing.

“You’re not allowed to speak yet,” The king ordered, to which one of the guards standing next to him hit him with the hilt of his sword as punishment.  Mark winced as Jinyoung bent over in pain, clutching his stomach.  “You will be hung by the neck until dead and thereafter your body buried within the precincts of the prison!”

“No…”  Jinyoung whispered. 

Mark’s heart was beating straight through his chest.  He felt like he was drowning, the air rapidly escaping from his lungs.  _It was so hard to breathe._

“Prince Park Jinyoung!  Do you have any reason why the sentence of death should not be pronounced upon you?”  King Park was ruthless in his words.  Not an ounce of sympathy or regret on his face.

“I’m…”  Jinyoung was trying so hard to be strong this whole time but he couldn’t hold it in, tears flowing down his face in defeat.  “Mark, I’m sorry.  I couldn’t escape, I couldn’t do anything.  I wasn’t strong enough, it’s entirely my fault.  I couldn’t ever live the life I wanted to, but I wouldn’t be happy in any life without you.  I accept my death, my only regret being that I couldn’t see you again… wherever you are, can you hear me?”  Jinyoung’s head was down; he was sobbing loudly now, not caring in what he believed were his last moments.  “I’ll never regret loving you.  If this is the way things have to work out then so be it, life’s not worth living without you.”

The crowd was restless, conflicting opinions heavy in Mark’s ears.  Some protesting, some cheering, yells of encouragement, while others were booing.

King Park was still able to smile coldheartedly as he spoke his next words.  “May the lord have mercy on your soul.”

With one hard push, Jinyoung fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! Comments and kudos are always appreciated, the more I get the more motivation I have to write this. *-* 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you have/had a nice day! <3


	16. Chapter 16

They say that love conquers all, but how could that be possible? 

Love isn’t tangible.  Love isn’t sentient.  Love is but a hymn playing in the backgrounds of our hearts telling us that there’s someone out there that’s worth sacrificing for, nothing less and nothing more.

If you asked Mark just months earlier he would’ve told you that romantic love wasn’t real, a made up emotion that people lied about ever truly feeling.  Love couldn’t conquer anything.

It was Jinyoung who convinced Mark otherwise.

Love made you do wild things, driving you to the edge of what you believe in and throwing away any notion of sanity. When they say love conquers all, Mark realized, it doesn’t mean that as long as you are in love things will always work out.  It meant that when you’re in love, no matter what the circumstances, you will to _find_ a way to overcome anything.

It was only then that he truly understood why they say love conquers all.

* * *

 

Mark ran as quickly as he could through the crowd, pushing his way towards the front.

When the rope fell slack and came loose, Jinyoung fell freely and Mark threw himself to the ground to catch him in his arms, successfully cushioning his fall.

Jinyoung was in a daze, not realizing what had happened.  His eyes were squeezed shut as if he were scared to open them. “Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung’s body reacted to the sound of Mark’s voice, opening his eyes and staring into his helmet.  “What… what’s going on?”  Jinyoung’s eyes darted around and he realized where he was, his hands feeling the rope still around his neck. “I’m dead and you… ” 

Mark tipped his helmet off and _finally_ he was able to see Jinyoung’s face clearly.  It felt like forever since he last saw him; he had almost forgotten what it was like to be this happy.  “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.  You’re alive.”

“Alive…? Are you not lying this time?  This isn’t heaven?”

“I promise there’s nothing that could make this moment any more real than it already is.”

Jinyoung looked up at him and smiled sincerely as tears fell from the sides of his eyes.  Mark was sure this scene alone was far greater than anything heaven had to offer.

“This is impossible!  Guards, what are you doing?  You insolent fools, kill them!  Kill them both immediately!”  King Park was flailing his arms around brimming with anger.  No matter how much he ordered none of the guards moved an inch.  “How could this happen?  Who let this happen?!”

The townspeople were shocked speechless, not understanding what was happening.  The prison guards held their weapons ready so that nobody would move.

“It wasn’t that hard; shouldn’t you guys use stronger rope for this kind of thing?  I loosened it enough so it would snap easily.”  Jackson spoke up bravely, pulling his helmet off and tossing it to the ground. 

“Why isn’t anyone doing anything?!  Capture them!  Do something!”  King Park was furious, stepping down from where he was standing himself.  “If nobody moves I’ll take matters into my own hands!”

Like clockwork all the prison guards turned their weapons towards him, outnumbering him and rendering him helpless.

“You guys are not allowed to point your weapon at me!  Lower your weapons; this is an order from your king!” 

“They’re not on your side.”  Mark could hear Jaebum’s voice dripping with venom and he yelled to the extent that his voice would let him.  He was leaning heavily against Youngjae, one leg in the air, trying to stand on his own.  “They were never on your side.”

“ _You_ , “King Park’s eyes widened as he caught sight of Jaebum “You should be locked up, rotting away beneath the castle.”

“If you never wanted to see me again then maybe you should’ve _killed_ me when you had the chance, I mean, we all know that’s what you do when you want someone out of your way, right?” Jaebum was using the last ounce of strength left in his body to make sure he would be able to say what he needed to say.

“Kill him!  Kill him now!” King Park kept yelling, now frantic in his motions.

“You think after spending so much time locked up all alone with the guards we would’ve never spoken?  We know everything, all those words you spoke right to my face because you thought I would be dead before I could say anything,” Jaebum turned to the crowd to address them directly.  “This man has committed the highest crime known to our civilization, high treason.  He killed your former king with his own hands so that he could come to power by himself!”  Jaebum yelled so loudly Mark felt chills run up his spine as he spoke.

The people of the kingdom all had conflicting ideas when it came to many things regarding the kingdom, but if there was something that everyone shared it was pure allegiance to their former king.  He was the saviour of their kingdom, and everyone had been devastated when they found out about his sudden passing.  The only people who knew the truth were the guards who worked closely to the king, Queen Park, and Jaebum. 

The guards hated the king and wanted to rebel, but Jaebum was smarter than that.  He told them that they should keep quiet for now and wait until the moment was right.  Earn his trust only to let him fall when it mattered.  When Jaebum told them everything they devised a plan; a plan to put an end to King Park’s reign of terror once and for all. 

The crowd started getting restless; the information lay out in the open.  Everyone was either lost or furious.

“If you still need more convincing that I’m telling the truth, just take a look at me!  Every broken bone, every scar, every cut was caused by him!  I am living proof of the evil lurking in his heart!” 

Jinyoung and Mark completely forgotten, the crowd was in an uproar.  They started chanting “Down with King Park!”  For the first time, Mark saw complete dread behind King Park’s eyes. 

That’s when he knew they had finally won.

* * *

 

“Park Jinyoung, you had the same name as your father?  That would mean that you’re technically Park Jinyoung Junior-“

“Don’t say it please, I absolutely hate when people call me that.”  Jinyoung was sitting in the palace, mulling over the sudden responsibilities that had fallen into his lap.  Mark was prodding the top of his head, trying to get him to calm down.

Due to the arrest of both of his parents the day before, the kingdom was left in shambles, no rulers and the western kingdom still pushing forward with the war, despite King Park being removed from the throne.

Jinyoung had been put in charge of the kingdom, for now, trying to fix everything his father messed up as the oldest heir to the throne.  The former king’s family had been contacted and agreed to succeed the throne as soon as the kingdom was at peace again.

“We have to stop this but you can’t really go taking back war declarations so easily.  I invited the ruler of the western kingdom to have a discussion about the war situation but I have no idea if I’ll be able to convince her to drop the declaration.  She’s downstairs.”

Jaebum was lying somewhere in a doctor’s bed trying his best to recover.  He was lucky that although the scars would never go away, his broken bones would heal and he would be able to walk again.  Youngjae stayed by his side.

“Her?”  Mark asked, knowing his knowledge of the kingdom rulers was rusty.

Bambam, Yugyeom, Sooyoung, and Jackson stayed with Mark and Jinyoung, trying their best to help him sort out things as well.  It was Bambam’s idea to invite the queen of the western kingdom directly there even though Jinyoung had been uncertain it was the right thing to do.  “The queen of the western kingdom; Queen Bhuwakul, I heard she’s pretty intense.  If we have to go into war I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Everyone looked worried but Bambam looked at Yugyeom with resolve before speaking up.  “I’ve learned a thing or two about facing your own demons these past days, and I think I can help bring peace back to the kingdom.”

“Bambam?”  Jinyoung looked at Mark only to see he was just as confused as he was.

Bambam walked down the stairs before anyone could ask him what was going on.  “Hey, wait!”  Jinyoung jogged after him and the rest followed closely behind.

Downstairs Queen Bhuwakul of the western kingdom stood tall, her dress adorned magnificently.  Her face stern until she caught a glimpse of Bambam’s face.  “Kunpimook?”

Mark watched in silence as the queen suddenly had tears in her eyes. 

“Kunpimook?  Is that really you?”

“Mom… I’m sorry.”

Mark faltered before he could stop himself.  “Mom?!  That means Bambam-“

“Is a prince of the western kingdom?  That’s correct.”  Yugyeom answered for him.

“But, that means you…”  Mark was trying to put together the pieces in his mind.  How could he have not known?  What did Bambam say about himself again?  His mind was drawing a blank.

“I’m not a prince if that’s what you were wondering.  I’m just a lowly stable worker that happened to fall in love with someone way out of their league,” Yugyeom continued.  “We were frightened of reality; we knew that nobody would accept us.  That’s why we ran away.”

Mark was stunned silent.  This whole time he had been so scared of his situation when something so similar had happened to the two of them.  Their kindness made so much more sense now.  They knew exactly what they were feeling the entire time.

“Don’t apologize!  Oh!  Just come here!”  The queen pulled Bambam into his arms and hugged him tightly.

“You’re not upset?”  Bambam asked.

“Of course I’m upset, but only for the fact that you worried me so much.  Do you know how long I looked for you?  I knew about everything, but I didn’t realize you would go so far as to leave me.”

Bambam pushed her away for a moment.  “Wait, you knew about...”

“Yugyeom?  I knew.”  She answered calmly and Mark saw Yugyeom’s jaw drop next to him.

“You were okay with it?!”  Bambam was so embarrassed his cheeks were redder than a ripe tomato.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that I was okay with it, but you’re my son and whatever you do I can’t help but love and support you.  If this is the life you want to live and it’s what makes you happy, then who am I to oppose you?”

That when Bambam cried, he really cried,  Mark and Jinyoung just stared in silence, quietly wishing their parents treated them with even a fraction of love Bambam’s mom had for her son.  “I was so scared, I’m so sorry.”

“But, what are you doing here?”

Bambam wiped away his tears and pulled himself together.  He went and grabbed Jinyoung by the arm and pulled him in front of the queen.  “This is Prince Park, or I guess King Park under the current circumstances.  I know you came to discuss war, but this kingdom no longer wants to fight.  Former King Park has been arrested and we want to bring peace to the kingdom again.  Jinyoung is my friend and all of us would appreciate if you withdraw any and all acclamations you have against the northern kingdom.” 

“You, “Queen Bhuwakul eyed him up and down.  “You are King Park’s son?  The one who was supposed to marry my daughter?”

Mark had almost forgotten about that.  This has all started because Jinyoung didn’t go through with the marriage.  “That is correct.”  Jinyoung answered truthfully.

“Are you able to be engaged at this time?”  Mark instinctively put his arm around Jinyoung and pulled him closer defensively.  He didn’t want to hear about this nonsense _again_.

“Mom, I’m telling you now he’s an awful match for my sister, horrible really, I promise the kingdom will find someone else for her to marry.  There’s no reason to pursue this matter any further.  I will find somebody myself if I have to.”  Bambam pleaded.

The Queen didn’t seem too convinced, but he saw the way Mark had his arm around Jinyoung and the wheels seemed to click in place.  “I see, very well then.  Kunpimook, you must find a prince that is willing to be married before the month is up and I will sign any document that will let us stay at peace with this kingdom.  I don’t condone bloodshed for no good reason.  The one I was angry at is longer in power; I can rest easy knowing I won’t be bothered by him anymore.”

Mark let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and Jinyoung was trying not to smile but he couldn’t hold back.  “Thank you so much, I will no longer be in power when we are at peace but I hope our relations will always stay well.”

“Alright, if that’s all I’ll be leaving,” She turned around and her guards stood to walk her out.  “Kunpimook, I do hope you’ll join me.  The kingdom misses you.”

Bambam looked at Yugyeom worriedly. 

“And yes, you can bring Yugyeom with you.  I’d like to meet him as well.”

Yugyeom and Bambam took one last look at everyone before saying their goodbyes and following behind the queen. 

 “King Park is gone, war crisis evaded, all that’s left to deal with...”  Jinyoung thought aloud.

“The kingdom of Jinhae,” Sooyoung popped up next to him with a huge grin on her face.  “Now that our parents are likely to be executed in the coming days and the former king’s family will regain control that leaves us back in power of Jinhae.”

“That leaves us in charge, just the two of us?”

“More like just _you_.  You’re the proper heir to the throne, from this moment on you are officially crowned King Park Jinyoung, ruler of Jinhae!”  Sooyoung smiled like she was celebrating but Jinyoung wasn’t exactly happy.  “Is something wrong?”

Mark was sure he was thinking the same thing as Jinyoung.

“Listen, now that the entire kingdom knows about my… circumstances, there are still a lot of people who will hate me for who I am, or even want me dead.  On top of that, I don’t want to be a royal.  I have never been happy living a royal lifestyle. Yes, we are rich and get treated well but there’s so much more to life!”

Sooyoung listened carefully, she had already known he had been opposed to the royal lifestyle bit it was still weird to hear someone turn down being a _king_.

“Did you know that some people say there’s more land across the waters?  Different places, different people, I think it would nice to travel the world, go on adventures, be free, just anything but being locked up in that castle and having to abide by the rules set in place.  I’m absolutely sick of it.”

Sooyoung nodded her head accepting the facts.  “I’m assuming Mark feels the same way?”

“Of course, I’d love to travel, especially with Jinyoung by my side.”

Sooyoung sighed.  “I’ll never understand you, what’s going to happen to the kingdom of Jinhae then?  It’s already a mess back home.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve realized there is one last heir to the throne, and I don’t know about you, but I think ‘Queen Park Sooyoung’ rolls off the tongue rather nicely.”  Jinyoung chuckled at the way Sooyoung was suddenly beaming, overjoyed with the situation.

“Queen?  Me?  That seems like a wonderful solution!”  She went in and gave Jinyoung a tight hug.  “Seriously, you’re the best brother a girl could ask for, don’t forget that, alright?”

“You’re the best sister a guy could ask for, you really made me have faith that not everyone in this family in completely awful.”

Sooyoung pulled away and looked at Mark.  “Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid, alright?  I can’t afford to lose any more family.” 

“Of course, thanks, Sooyoung,” Mark had to give her a hug as well since he loved her like his own sister at this point.  “For everything.”

“So you’re a queen, does this make me king?”  Mark didn’t even know where Sungjae had popped out from.

“Think again, I’m the queen.  No matter what happens your permanent title is going to be my servant.”  Sooyoung said ruthlessly.

“What, how is that fair?”  Sungjae poked her cheeks and acted cutely but Sooyoung was unaffected.

“I’m the Queen of Jinhae and I’m the only ruler they need!  That’s the final decision, no complaining, or maybe I’ll consider my relationship status altogether.”

Sungjae paled at the thought.  “Oh!  Your majesty, yes of course!  I’ll obey your every command!”  Sungjae dropped to his knees and Sooyoung laughed at him.

“Stop, that’s weird!”  Sungjae got back and pulled her into a hug.  Mark and Jinyoung realized their conversation was over and decided to leave.

“With that, just about everything is taken care of.”  Jinyoung said as he pulled Mark close. 

“I think there’s just one more thing I have to take care of actually.”  Mark looked adoringly at Jinyoung, unable to hold back the grin creeping across his face.

“Oh, what could that be?”  The words barely had time to leave Jinyoung’s lips before Mark pulled him in for a searing kiss.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”  Mark said when they finally separated, both of them out of breath.

“Don’t stop then,” Jinyoung pulled him back in so that he could feel Jinyoung’s breath against his damp lips as he spoke.  “We have all the time in the world.”

“Love you, so much.”  Mark mumbled against Jinyoung’s lips.

“Love you too.”  Jinyoung replied.

When their lips joined again Mark was certain they were going to stay like this for a very long time.

…

“Uh- should I leave now?”  Jinyoung pushed himself off Mark when he heard Jackson’s voice.

“Jackson?  How long have you-“

“I was actually standing here the whole time, I wanted to join in celebrating and stuff too but I mean if you two would like to be alone…”

Mark groaned as he put a hand on his face.  _Typical Jackson._

“Okay, I got the message, we can talk tomorrow!  I’ll go visit Jaebum or something…”  Jackson didn’t need to be told; he left willingly, _finally_ leaving them alone.

Jinyoung couldn’t help but laugh at how distraught Mark was. 

“Now,” Jinyoung pulled Mark back towards him.  “Where were we?”

* * *

 

**_One Month Later_ **

“You’re really leaving the kingdom for good?”  Jinyoung watched as Yugyeom held his hand and helped him on the boat.  “I thought everything was okay.”

“Everything is fine, my mom is okay with me and Yugyeom’s relationship but I know if I stay it’s only going to bring a bad reputation to our kingdom.  Not everyone accepts me, and if I stay there could be people who oppose us for that reason alone.  I love my family a lot, but if it’s for the good of our kingdom I can leave knowing that there’s always someone back home who cares about me.”  Bambam admitted.

“So you two are going to travel?  I would’ve thought you would go back to your nice house in the forest.”  Jinyoung said as he and Mark followed behind boarding the boat.

“We debated going back, but we thought this was an opportunity we shouldn’t skip out on.  As long as you two are here we feel safe.”  Bambam looked lovingly at Yugyeom.  “Besides, I never actually liked your gross plant soup anyways.”

Yugyeom’s face immediately fell.  “What?!  I thought our relationship was built on trust and honesty but this entire time I’ve been deceived!”  Yugyeom pointed his finger right in his face.  “Liar!”

“Yeah yeah okay, you’ll get over it in ten minutes.  You love me too much to stay angry at me.”  Bambam replied condescendingly.

Yugyeom tried to say something back but he realized Bambam was right and decided to drop it, only crossing his arms and pouting in response.

“Do you want me to carry you, Jaebum?”  Jackson offered his arms out to Jaebum, who was hopping on one foot aboard the boat.

“No, I’m perfectly fine.”  Jaebum replied, even though he was clearly not.

“At least use your crutches properly!  What are you doing, hopping on one foot and flailing one crutch around is not how you’re going to heal.  Why are you coming anyways?  You should stay back here.”  Jackson held on to the Jaebum’s arm and Youngjae walked behind him so he wouldn’t fall over.

“I have no reason to stay in the kingdom anymore, there’s nothing left for me here.  Besides, Youngjae thought travelling might be fun too, and he’s not going without me.”  Jaebum stated proudly and Youngjae ducked his head down knowing this was partially his fault.

“I’m sorry, I told him he should stay home and heal properly but he refused.”  Youngjae admitted.

The three of them boarded the boat behind Mark and Jinyoung.  “I really hope you two finally solidified this ‘sort of’ relationship thing you have going on, or else I might just have to take Youngjae for myself.”  Jackson side-hugged Youngjae and Jaebum glared at him.

“He doesn’t want you.”  Jaebum sneered.

“Is that so?  You left us alone for so long Jaebum, I can’t say that no relationship developed between us during that time… isn’t that right Youngjae?”  Jackson winked at him and Youngjae decided to play along.

“Oh!  Jackson was so comforting when you left me all alone, It’s only natural something developed between us!”  Youngjae leaned into Jackson side and smiled cheekily at him.

Jaebum stabbed his crutch right into Jackson’s stomach and watched him keel over in pain.  “Back off.”

“Ahh, sorry Jackson!”  Youngjae moved and attached himself to Jaebum.  “Jaebum is mine now.”

Jaebum looked flustered at Youngjae’s sudden confession; the tips of his ears reddening as he couldn’t even look over at him.

“Isn’t that right, Jaebum?”  Youngjae leaned his face in closer which only made Jaebum more embarrassed, but once he saw how cutely Youngjae was eyeing him he smiled softly.

“Of course, I’m yours.”  Jaebum whispered as their faces were so close they touched noses and just looked at each other blissfully.

“Ahhh!  Heart attack!”  Jackson clutched his chest and fell over at the sight, Mark and Jinyoung burst out laughing from where they were watching from behind.

“Mark,” Jinyoung intertwined his fingers with Mark’s as he pulled him over to the side of the boat, staring into the ocean far beyond them.  “What do you think is out there?”

“I’m not sure.”  Mark rested his hand on his chin as he leaned over the railing.

“Do you think there are different places and people out there, communities of people who believe in completely different things?”  Jinyoung mused.

“That would be cool, that’s why we’re going out there right?  To find out?”  Mark gave Jinyoung’s hand a little squeeze and Jinyoung rested his head against his shoulder.

“I guess… it feels so weird leaving the kingdom behind, though.  After all that we’ve been through, it’s finally over.”

“This isn’t the end.”

Jinyoung looked over at Mark, who was staring wistfully into the open waters.  “Oh?”

When Mark fell in love with Jinyoung it felt like he was drowning, buried deep beneath the waters but enjoying every moment of it cautiously.  Now, he felt himself rising to the surface, able to love without the weight of the world constantly holding him down.  He finally reached the surface, breathing in the crisp ocean air for the first time.  He was finally free.

“For us, this is only the beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS, It’s finally over, phew! I feel like I've been publishing this forever. I have to thank all of you guys for your lovely comments and 280+ kudos! You guys really motivated me to finish this! I've been thinking over this chapter for a while and I meant to get it out sooner but I actually went to see got7 in Toronto last weekend and I was really overwhelmed again BUT the PCD wasn't too bad this time! It's amazing how much motivation to finish a markjin fic you can get when you witness with your own eyeballs them asking Jinyoung which member he would date if he were a girl and having him reply in the softest most loving voice 'I choose Mark.' :') I screamed so loud I choked LOL. After that I just went home and spent all week pouring my heart into this ending! Please feel free to leave me comments telling me what you thought or any questions you have! I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability! If you want to talk more/be my friend/ figure out what the heck I do with my life feel free to give me a follow on either twitter (@jagseunie) or tumblr (jackseunie.tumblr.com)! LASTLY if you guys want some sort of epilogue please tell me you’re interested and I might just think up something cute. :) Again, thanks for supporting and sticking with me all these months I’ve been updating this fic and I hope you have/had an absolutely wonderful day!


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: smut in the second half

“Is this really necessary?” Mark asked as Jackson braided flowers together. “Where did you even learn how to do that?”

“I was friends with the palace gardener, it’s not hard,” Jackson finished the last bit and held it up, examining his handiwork. “Perfect.”

Jackson pulled Mark down by the shoulders and placed the flower crown atop his head. 

“Oh, that’s cute.” Jackson smiled at the accessory, trying to convince Mark it completed his look and matched with the scenery.

They were in a forest a way’s away from the town they were currently staying in. It was beautiful, not like the forests back home that just had heavy brush. There were all sorts of flowers and plants growing here. As soon as Jinyoung saw it he fell in love.

The reason he was here was still unclear to him. Jinyoung just mentioned this place would be perfect for ‘something’ but didn’t mention what the something was. Everyone was in on it but him, it was supposed to be some sort of surprise. Jackson seemed excited about it and Mark wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign.

“I made one for Jinyoung too, I’m going to give it to him, don’t move! Stay right here until I call you!” Jackson instructed, pointing a finger at him.

“Alright, but I still don’t trust any of this.”

“Don’t worry, this was all Jinyoung approved. I’m sure you’ll love it.” Jackson assured before he disappeared into the trees, leaving Mark waiting.

It had been a year since the seven of them started their travels together. They had sailed across seas for what seemed like a huge distance. No matter how far they went the ocean never seemed to end. He wasn’t exactly sure where they were right now, but the people of this island were incredibly nice and the scenery was beautiful. 

Mark had no regrets in leaving. He and Jinyoung only fell more in love each day they were together, which he thought was impossible since he was so in love with him from the beginning. 

The group he travelled with were now extremely tight knit as well, all of them now closer than just simple friends. They felt like family. 

Today had been the strangest day, Jackson telling Mark to put on his nicest clothes and then dragging him into the forest. He felt like if he had to stay in one place for the rest of his life he wouldn’t mind staying somewhere as beautiful as this.

“Mark, you can come now!” Jackson called, and Mark had no idea what to expect when he walked through the trees before him.

He was greeted by a path of flowers, leading towards all their friends standing at the end. Jaebum and Youngjae to the left, Yugyeom and Bambam to the right. Jackson stood in front of him with Jinyoung who was staring directly at him and smiling. He looked so adorable with flowers in his hair and a makeshift blazer Mark had to pause to catch his breath. How could he still catch him off guard like this?

“Mark! You there? Walk forward!” Jackson broke his trance with his loud voice. Mark still had no idea what was going on but he was happy to stand next to Jinyoung.

“Hey.” Jinyoung said softly when he stood next to him.

“Hey,” Mark smiled shyly, both of them more embarrassed than usual. “What’s going on?”

Jackson cleared his throat loudly and started announcing in his booming voice. “We are gathered here today… to have a wedding. Kind of, not an official one because that can’t really happen but Jinyoung asked so adorably for something like this so of course, I said I could figure out something unofficial so that you two could-”

Mark’s heart dropped into his stomach when he finally realized what Jinyoung was planning.

“ _Jackson_.” Jinyoung said, eyeing Jackson with an annoyed look on his face.

“Was I rambling?” Jackson wasn’t flustered often, but he looked like he was embarrassed. 

“Jinyoung, is this what you wanted all this time, a wedding?” Jinyoung had always loved sappy things like this.

“I know you said we don’t need anything official showing our dedication to each other but… I don’t know. It’s just something that means a lot to me. I’ve been to a lot of amazing weddings and I know I’ll never be able to have a royal wedding, or even any sort of official wedding but…”

“You still wanted to have a wedding.” Mark was smiling now, he couldn’t hold back. Jinyoung was too cute. “I didn’t mean I didn’t want to have a wedding when I said that you know, I just wanted to make sure you knew we didn’t need to be officially married for me to dedicate my life to you.”

Jinyoung looked over at the scenery, a wistful look on his face. “Those flowers grow here, the same ones that grow behind the castle back home. I had never seen them anywhere else before. As soon as I saw them in this forest I knew this place had special meaning, like we were meant to come here someday.” Jinyoung looked down at his feet, unable to meet Mark’s eyes he was so embarrassed. 

Mark tilted Jinyoung’s head up. “I think this place is perfect, and I’d be honoured to be yours forever-”

“Wait, we’re not at that part yet!” Jackson piped in. “I don’t really remember exactly what they say, but there are usually vows… do you guys have any vows?” Mark could at least give Jackson an ‘A’ for effort.

Mark, having been notified of this whole situation only moments before had nothing prepared. He wished Jinyoung had told him earlier for that reason, but he knew he wanted to surprise him.

“I have something I’d like to say,” Jinyoung laughed shyly, still trying to get over how cheesy the moment was. 

Mark took Jinyoung’s hand tightly in his as Jinyoung started to speak.

“I know there’s not much I haven’t said to you over all the time we’ve been together, but if there’s one thing I’ve never properly said, it’s _thank you_.” Jinyoung looked around at all the people standing around them. “I know if it weren’t for all of you I wouldn’t even be alive right now, but it’s more than that.”

Mark’s heart skipped a beat just from looking at Jinyoung so genuinely speaking his mind. He always loved Jinyoung’s way with words that sounded like he was quoting things straight from a book. He would never be able to relate.

“If I had never met you, I would’ve never survived in a metaphorical sense. I was unhappy for so long, I didn’t understand my feelings at all. I let life pass me by for so many years, thinking there would be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel when really I was just spiraling deeper into a reality that I didn’t want or deserve.” The stillness of the forest was really calming; Mark noticed when Jinyoung took a brief pause. “I was so scared when I realized just how much I liked you; I was ready to give up everything. Nothing I felt made sense in my mind, but you shattered my entire idea of thinking. I thought I was a horrible person because of the way I felt and the things I wanted, but the moment you accepted my feelings I felt like there was finally an answer for me, a fork in the road I hadn’t noticed before. There was never anything wrong with me. The only thing that was wrong was the doubts in my mind that told me I was a lost cause. You made me see the light.” 

Mark liked to choose his words carefully, thinking them over for long beyond what was the social standard of time to which you were to reply. Right now Mark’s mind was a mess, the way Jinyoung looked combined with the setting, the mood, the atmosphere, couldn’t be processed. He knew he was just kind of staring at Jinyoung, but there were no words. There would never be the right words to perfectly describe how much Jinyoung meant to him, and it frustrated him all the time. 

“Mark…” Jinyoung wiped away the tears that he didn’t even realize were falling off his face with his fingers. “Don’t cry, you’re going to make me cry too.”

Mark couldn’t help it. All the emotions and memories rushed through his mind at once. Everything they had gone through to finally be here together was so worth it. The moment was too perfect. Mark just cried harder, because he realized he would never have to be alone or unhappy for the rest of his life. He didn’t only save Jinyoung, but he saved himself. “Sorry,” He sniffed. “I…” Mark was too choked up to say anything and opted for burying himself in Jinyoung’s shoulder as he comforted him instead.

“You don’t need to say anything, I understand your feelings.” Jinyoung whispered in his ear.

“No,” Mark leaned up and wiped away at his eyes. “I need to say ‘thank you’ too, for existing, for making your way into my life, for everything. You mean the world to me and,” Mark was still crying too hard and his thoughts were scattered. “I just really really love you.”

Jinyoung smiled so hard his eyes crinkled up and tears started falling, unable to hold them back anymore. “I love you too.”

Neither of them noticed Jackson was basically a sobbing mess beside them too until he finally spoke, “Can you guys just kiss and be married already? This is too touching and if this goes on any longer I’m going to start bawling.” 

Neither of them could speak any longer either, so they took that as a cue to seal their love with a kiss. 

They could hear cheering around them as their lips touched. They separated only to press their foreheads together and smile.

“Enough crying!” Jackson wiped away his own tears and fully composed himself again. “We need to celebrate! Is there a bar in town or something?”

Jackson successfully lightened the mood, but Mark couldn’t take his eyes off Jinyoung. 

“Forever.” Jinyoung whispered through his tears.

“Forever.” Mark agreed. 

Mark never thought he was destined to love, but to even think he was ready to settle for a life any different from this was frightening. He realized now giving up was silly. Just because you haven’t found the right person for you is no reason to settle for a life of unhappiness. Even if it takes a lifetime to find the person that’s right for you, you should never lose faith that the universe will bring that person to you. If just a single factor had been different, he would’ve never found his happiness.

Royal or not, standing there knowing that he and Jinyoung would be together for the rest of their lives was the best fairy tale ending he could possibly ask for.

* * *

Mark was eyeing Jinyoung as if the clothes on his body had no right to still be on him.

Jinyoung could read Mark like a book, he knew what he was feeling from the way Mark’s gaze drifted down his body and snapped back up when he realized he had lingered for too long. Jinyoung knew it was time to tell their friends they wanted to have some alone time, for Mark’s sanity at least.

They stayed in some sort of hostel. They were lucky when the places they visited had places to lodge since most were remote. It wasn’t anything special, a chair a table and a bed barely big enough to fit both of them lying down together. 

Once Jinyoung’s hands were on him the location hardly mattered. 

Jinyoung was passionate when it came to making love. The first time they were both so scared to touch each other but now it was second nature, the way Jinyoung’s hands pulled his shirt up and removed it with their lips parting for only a split second.

It was like an addiction, from the first time he touched Jinyoung he was hooked for life.

Often when they made love is was slow and sensual, kissing and rubbing their bodies together until they crept over the edge. 

It wasn’t that kind of night tonight.

Mark’s hands pulled open the buttons on Jinyoung’s shirt, too frustrated to take his time. He heard the thread snap and the buttons fly off, ricocheting off the walls and falling to the floor. “Sorry,” He mumbled against Jinyoung’s lips, interrupting their kiss for a brief moment. 

“It’s fine,” Jinyoung pressed soft kisses to his cheek and trailed his lips down to his neck, too blissed out to care. “Don’t stop.”

Jinyoung adapted to whatever situation Mark put him in, always eager to please. When Mark guided Jinyoung’s hands to his waist he didn’t hesitate to tug the waistband of his pants and underwear down as he pushed him to lie flat on the bed. Mark lifted his hips off and let him pull them off all the way and toss them aside. Jinyoung’s eyes raked over his naked body, as if he were trying to decide where to put his mouth first. Jinyoung hadn’t done anything but his careful inspection already left Mark on pins and needles, wondering what he was going to do next. 

He was already painfully hard, so when Jinyoung’s hand wrapped around him he couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped his mouth. Jinyoung settled his mouth on his chest, sucking marks into his skin as his hand worked against him. He was enjoying it so he almost regretted it when he moved out to stop Jinyoung’s arm from moving. “Don’t do it so fast, I don’t want this to be over too quickly.”

Jinyoung smirked; he took his hand off of him and ran it through his hair instead, gripping it tightly as he kissed him again. “We can’t do this all night; we’re leaving in the morning.”

“Don’t care,” Mark moaned unintentionally as Jinyoung tugged on his hair again. “Sleep is for the weak.”

That caused Jinyoung to laugh, burying his face in the crook of Mark’s neck. Mark wasn’t joking, though; he really wanted Jinyoung to fuck him until his knees went weak. He craved the soreness he would feel in the morning if it were a reminder of the night before.

Jinyoung listened and slowed it down, ravishing him with his lips and hands but avoiding anywhere that would push him over the edge. Jinyoung’s lips grazed over Mark’s entire body leaving faint red marks as he nibbled and kissed along the way. He asked Mark to turn on his back and he started from where he left off, his hands gripping at his arms or hair as he kissed him all over. 

When he saw Jinyoung get up to slide his pants down he got up on his hands and knees in anticipation, clearly done with being teased, even though he enjoyed it so much.

“Don’t touch yourself,” Jinyoung instructed and he got back onto the bed and Mark felt an oil-slicked finger circle around his entrance. “I don’t want you to cum just yet.”

Mark could barely ponder the fact that Jinyoung was far from done with him when he felt a finger inside, circling around and coating him so that he could slide another finger in easily. Mark’s hips circled, trying to get as much feeling out of Jinyoung’s fingers as he could but he needed more. He wanted Jinyoung inside of him. 

Jinyoung must’ve read his mind, because not a moment later Jinyoung removed his fingers and probed his entrance with his cock, teasing him as usual, trailing the tip up and down and refusing to enter him fully. Mark wasn’t having any of that, pushing his hips up against him and letting himself be filled up. Jinyoung groaned at the sudden pleasure, letting Mark get off his hands and knees to sit on Jinyoung’s lap instead. Mark was setting the pace anyways, so it wasn’t long before Mark started bouncing up and down on his dick, out of Jinyoung’s control.

Jinyoung had his hands wrapped around him clawing at his chest trying to get a grip on him. Jinyoung’s mouth was on his shoulder, teeth grazing him until he eventually bit down when Mark let out a particularly sinful moan. Mark didn’t mind Jinyoung’s habit of biting him whenever things got heated; he did it unconsciously and apologized furiously after. Mark thought it was hot. Just thinking about Jinyoung losing control because of him was enough to keep him up long after their lovemaking sessions were over.

Mark was sure Jinyoung was getting close so he reached out to touch himself but was stopped abruptly as Jinyoung pushed him right off, panting heavily.

Mark was about to ask what happened when Jinyoung pulled him in for a searing kiss. “I want you too,” He whispered into his ear. “Please.”

“What?” Mark’s mind was hazy and he could barely comprehend anything but his intense need for release at the moment.

“Are you tired?” Jinyoung managed to ask and Mark shook his head ‘no’, an obvious lie but he didn’t want to ruin the mood. 

Jinyoung nudged Mark out of the way and got on his knees, pressed his face into the pillow, and spread his cheeks wide open with his hands. “Fuck me.” He said simply.

_ Oh. _ Mark’s eyed widened at the scene that played out before him. Everything about Jinyoung screamed pure before he knew what kind of person he could turn into between the sheets. Jinyoung knew what he wanted at all times, and he would make a point to get what he wanted. He loved fucking Mark senseless but he also loved being fucked until he screamed. Sometimes he wanted _both_.

There was no way Mark could say no to that.

Mark reached for the oils and made him slick. Jinyoung made everything as hot as possible, purposefully moaning whenever Mark’s hands were on him. Just one finger and Jinyoung was muffling his whines into the pillow, making Mark leak precum before he was even inside him.

Mark slid in easily and started moving his hips, angling them until he found the spot that made Jinyoung writhe the most, the pillow swallowing up his yells again. Sweat was dripping down his face and he was feeling incredibly hot, both from the temperature in the room and the way Jinyoung played with his feelings. 

Jinyoung could probably feel Mark’s legs giving out and he started pushing himself backward into Mark to keep the rhythm. He couldn’t get it quite right so he asked Mark to lie down instead, and Mark was quietly thankful.

Jinyoung got on top of him and slid Mark’s cock back inside of him, both of them failing to keep a straight face as they settled back into ecstasy. They were always a bit embarrassed staring at each other directly sometimes, trying to not face each other or busy themselves with kissing, but today Mark couldn’t take his eyes off Jinyoung.

The way he ground his hips down on him was ridiculous. Jinyoung was whiny, but his voice never got high pitched. He had these low throaty whines that were so genuinely _Jinyoung_ he wouldn’t mind if they were the only thing he heard for the rest of his life.

He knew when Jinyoung was close because he started muttering hot nonsense. “Good, you feel so good Mark,” He leaned down to tongue his chest, but he ends up biting him again, almost breaking skin. “Sorry- I’m- you’re so _hot,_ Mark.”

Mark didn’t need to reply with words he would just keep going on his own like he wasn’t talking to Mark directly, his thoughts were spilling from his lips and he had no control over it.

Every time Jinyoung said his name he felt himself getting closer to the edge until he was bursting at the seams. “I’m gonna cum.”

“Cum inside me.” Jinyoung ordered, pushing Mark right over the edge. He felt trails of fire running down his skin as he dissolved into the pleasure of his orgasm, the heat bearable and welcoming as he slowly came down from his high.

Jinyoung had stopped moving, looking entranced staring at Mark lose himself. When Mark finally snapped back to reality he reached out for Jinyoung’s cock and started stroking him swiftly to push him over the edge.

He came soon after that, spilling onto Mark’s hand and chest groaning Mark’s name. He breathed deeply, calming down and looking down at the mess he made. 

“Hmm,” Jinyoung gave him a cat-like smirk before picking up Mark’s hand and bringing it to his mouth, tonguing over his knuckles and licking the cum off his hand. “You ready for round two?” He teased, since Mark was so gung ho about going all night before but out of the two of them, he looked more tired now.

Mark was still trying to catch his breath, Jinyoung slipping his finger in his mouth and sucking on it. “Wait- I can’t, not yet,” Mark pulled his finger out and pulled Jinyoung onto him into a hug. “Just give me half an hour.”

“You’re going to fall asleep.” Jinyoung teased, nibbling at his neck. Mark tried to blink rapidly to make himself stay awake.

“I’m fine,” Jinyoung rolled to his side not caring about the mess and snuggled under his arm against his chest. Mark yawned and pulled Jinyoung close. “Maybe just a nap.”

“Mmhmm,” Jinyoung mumbled against his skin, giving him soft kisses. “Love you.”

  
The last thing Mark remembered before passing out was pulling Jinyoung so his back was pressed into his chest and whispering “Love you too.” into his ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, my laptop is still gone and I can't afford a new one yet but since I've been looking for little things to write I decided to write this epilogue. This is the absolute end to this story, I hope you enjoyed it. ^^ I know a handful of you requested the smut so... here. LOL. As usual, all comments and kudos are appreciated and loved. Feel free to bug me on twitter @jagseunie if you like. Hope you all have/had a fantastic day. <3


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